Kaseys Korner

Hibiscus 'Powder Puff'

and the first snow of the year.  Say what???  Yep, you read that right ~ we got the first snow of the season last night and into today.  It was heavy, wet stuff that left a TON of damage in its wake since most of our trees & shrubs were still fully leafed out.  I was out throughout the night and all day today trying to knock it off the branches I could reach.  Tomorrow I'll have to assess the damage but already I hear chain saws working on the many branches down across the neighborhood.  The ground was warm ~ it was 80 degrees on Monday ~ so the pavements and streets mostly melted.  Below you can see some of the accumulation on my patio table:

At one time I measured 10" using a ruler but I'm sure there was more since it was melting the whole time.  Here's another look out the back patio door:

Isn't that crazy??  Melted concrete but piles of snow. 

Thank goodness for 'Powder Puff' Hibiscus that opened in the middle of our wintry day:

Feeling grateful I brought it indoors to overwinter, I'd considered otherwise.  It's loaded with buds:

which it also had last year but then they all fell off after coming inside??  That's why I was torn about whether to keep it or not.  I don't know what I did differently this year, I'm just happy for a bloom when everything is cold and white outside.

Makes the whole snow thing a bit easier to swallow, doesn't it?? 

blooms to carry me

thru another winter.  I'm sure I'm not the only one looking around the garden and drinking in what's left of the season?  Trying to "soak up" the color & greenery before everything turns to drab brown...

Are you grabbing the camera with the same increased frequency I am??   Determined to capture anything and everything left in bloom?? 

Zauschneria 'arizonica' (Hardy Hummingbird Trumpet) in front of the vintage wheelbarrow:

The way I see it, flowers at the end of October are just as precious as the first blooms of spring. 

They are the lasting impression of the garden before the doldrums of winter set in...

Japanese anemones still going strong. 

The longer they bloom, the shorter the "off season!"

Seat yourself in the purple rocker and enjoy the show...

With the end of the month looming, the sense of urgency to finish fall clean-up becomes paramount.  Tender tropicals (like double flowering mandevilla) have been lifted from their containers and brought indoors to be overwintered.  All that remains are annuals perilously close to demise.

Sounds morbid, doesn't it?? 

It would be remiss to focus solely on flowers & ignore the sudden explosion of fall foliage.  Check out the view down the side pathway today ~ the viburnum leaves were lit up like liquid sunshine!

So fantastic.  If only it would last....

'Terracotta' Calibrachoa ~ I'll be back for you next year!

You were fantastic in the arbor container ~ the perfect spiller.

Oh the melancholy of it all.  Proceeding with seasonal chores while mourning the loss of what has been. 

The fountain is winterized.  The birdbath heater is readied.  The last of the bulbs have been planted, etc. etc. 

All that remains is acceptance. 

Summer is over (get it in your head girl!) and after the predicted hard frost (coming with possible first snow) it will feel as tho fall is gone as well.  Now how to mentally get on the same page...

 

garden party

that never was....

Invitations were carefully handcrafted:

Drinks were lovingly adorned in paper wrappings:

Place cards were creatively constructed:

and yummy garden-themed treats were cut, frosted and individually wrapped:

but the time was never right, the garden wasn't ready, the invitees were away, etc., etc. 

Another year has come and gone and with it another missed opportunity.  Intentions were good.  Maybe next year there will be follow thru????

decision time

The threat of frost last weekend (that fortunately never happened) has spurred me into a greater appreciation of the garden.  I've been making concerted efforts to get outdoors as much as possible before the season truly is over (not that it's difficult, just a matter of time management!) 

I've noticed that Verbena bonariensis is the "go to" bloom for October.  Thank goodness it seeded itself all over the garden because the bees and bumbles (the latter a rare sighting this summer) are really using it.

Probably because (even tho I've been trying to add more) I still feel like there's a deficit of fall bloomers in my garden.  Something to keep working on...

Strangely enough, the foliage of most trees & shrubs have only the barest hint of fall color?  I need to look back thru photos from previous Octobers but I'm pretty sure the garden was starting to be "decked out" in autumn brilliance by this time in years past...  For now, a sea of green is still what greets the eye ~ note the antique birdhouse which is barely visible thru all the rose foliage:

That splotch of pink is a cluster of roses, blooming for the third and final time.  Elsewhere in the garden, other plants, with the luxury of extra time this mild fall, are also re-blooming.  Check out the Canterbury bells basking in afternoon sunlight:

It looks like the Brugmansia buds just might make it to blooming as well.

Ever so close....  

It's impossible to forget the month with dwindling daylight hours & fall touches like a pumpkin that replaced 'Adonis Blue' Buddleia in front of the birdhouse tuteur:

and of course the black mum-filled urns:

This is the time (instead of waiting until the last minute) to decide which plants to overwinter.  Two Colocasias are on my "maybe" list ~ 'Mojito:'

and 'Blue Hawaii:'

What to do, what to do....  I LOVE the foliage but haven't had much luck storing them in my basement.  Maybe the garage??

Then there's this vibrant lantana that I'm toying with turning into a topiary:

I've never shaped any of my tenders or annuals into topiary form before but I love the effect.  I saw my 'Powder Puff' Hibiscus as a topiary TREE (!!) last weekend and fell in love all over again.  That's what got me thinking about trying it.  I wonder how long it takes to get a nice height & shape??

I have a boat load of bulbs to plant too.  I believe I was over zealous when ordering back in June ~ I remember thinking I had lots of new planting areas in my back garden.  Now that they've arrived tho, I am wondering if I'll get them all in the ground.  If you don't hear from me for a few days, you'll know what I'm doing!

p.s.  I joined a neighborhood book club this fall and had my second meeting last night.  So fun. We met around a fire pit (I came home feeling like I'd gone camping).  Our book this month was "The Man in the Rockefeller Suit."  I'm mentioning this because we also all brought ingredients to create a "smores bar" ~ it was my first time thinking outside the box of a "regular smore."  My contribution was pumpkin marshmallows, cream cheese & cinnamon.  I'm wondering if anyone else has experimented with this favorite summer treat?? 

 

 

Late Season blooms

Now that it's October, much of the garden is looking decidedly "past tense" but luckily not everything.  Thank goodness for late bloomers, right?!  One perennial ~ Eupatorium rugosum 'chocolate' or Chocolate Snakeroot ~ is just now peaking:

Gotta love that, right?  It opened a little too late to attract butterflies, which is why I purchased it (I haven't seen any for a couple weeks now) but it's still a beautiful late season perennial.  Those dark stems are what got it into the cart!

They should stay in bloom until our first hard frost which, sadly, could happen any time now.  You know I always hope it's later rather than sooner!

Another perennial just starting to open is ~ Helianthus maximiliani or Maximilani Sunflower:

This native prairie perennial doesn't require a lot of water which is why it came to live in my front garden.  I wish it would spread more but the five stalks that came up this year are the most since being planted three years ago.  Their height is impressive ~ two are at least eight feet tall!  It's hard to tell scale in a photo but maybe you can get the idea from the pic below:

I don't remember them waiting so late to bloom before but it's been a strange year as many of you know.

An annual that has kept me waiting is Leonotis nepetifolia 'staircase.'  Started from seed & planted in the new oval bed, the plants grew and grew, eclipsing the birdhouse tuteur long ago.  It was the end of September before a speck of color could be seen on the buds tho.

See them towering over the birdhouse??  They are so tall, they're first to catch the morning sun!  Despite their height & unique bloom structure, I'm on the fence about whether they'll be included in any future garden.  They always bloom so late (some years frosting before the buds open) I'm thinking I'd prefer something that would be in flower for a longer period of time...

The orange whirls are pretty cool tho and they provide great winter interest so who knows?  I could change my mind again by next spring!

We had our first taste of cold weather this weekend.  Blustery winds and highs Saturday in the low 40's.  Brrr...  I was busy all afternoon hauling tender plants indoors & covering others because of a freeze warning.  It didn't happen but still, better safe than sorry, right?

Now I have the difficult choice of what to try & overwinter and what to let go....  I'm playing out the odds (in my head) of keeping everything!!! 

 

 

 

the early October garden

feels more like August.  I know, I know, we're only 3 days in but with temperatures in the mid 80's it's hard to believe the calendar.  Even tho I'd rather pretend it's going to be Indian summer until December, I'm realistic enough to proceed with the season.  Mums have been added to the tall urns at the end of the yew allee:

White rope lights were also added on either side of the yew pathway to illuminate it at night.  It looks like a runway out there after dark!

Pumpkins have been scattered hither & yon:

and phase II of the back garden redesign has commenced!  The first part of this phase is adding more raised bed area to the north side of the yard.

You can see a bit of exposed soil on the right side of the above photo.  Someone besides me is excited by the excavating ~ our Lhasa, Butterball!  I caught him jumping out of the newly dug bed:

After he landed he stopped and looked at me as if to say "Who me??  I would never get in there!!"

Ha!  We know better, don't we?!!!  :-)

As you also know, the garden is full of surprises ~ today it was a primula bloom I would never have dreamed possible:

'Pubescens' blooms in spring but it's never repeated in the fall before.  I have no idea why, but beauty of this caliber is not to be questioned!

More expected are aster blooms.  Below is Novi Belgii 'Winston Churchill:'

I planted this one in the container (veggie) bed and am lovin' the raspberry pink color.

David Austins 'Abraham Darby' is beginning a third flush of blooms!  Bloom on Abe ~ it's a rose that could bloom year 'round and I'd still never tire of it:

If you grow it, you know it smells every bit as delicious as it looks.

A new plant to the garden surprised me pleasantly by blooming non-stop since mid summer ~ Gaura lindheimeri 'Passionate Rainbow:'

I didn't think it could get better until Nicotiana alata 'lime green' took off ~ the combination is really lovely.  To think when I bought it, I really didn't care if it bloomed at all ~ I just liked the foliage so much!

The end of the week is supposed to usher in a cool front and some rain.  I knew the heat couldn't last but we're trying to enjoy it as much as possible before it ends.  The garden has been such a joy this year ~ totally worth all the hard work.  The only question I ask myself is "what took so long to do it??!!"