I try to be consistent in posting bloom day photos on the 15th of each month. This month Blog Action Day and Garden Blogger Bloom Day hit the calender simultaneously. So, I’m sharing bloom pix a few days late this month.
Crepe Myrtle Looks Fabulous in October Reds
It was pouring rain when I grabbed these shots yesterday, and the brilliance of the autumn leaves truly overshadows the smattering of fall bloomers in the garden.
Sadly, my Crepe Myrtle hasn’t bloomed since 2007. I’ll be sending in soil samples as I’m fairly certain the problem is deficient soil. But, I’ve also been asking arborist friends for their thoughts. So far, no answers. Still, this tree’s form and it’s unparalleled fall color make all the difference!
During much of the year, my food crops are covered in protective hoop houses.
Thriving Fall Crops
(If you follow the prior link, you’ll see pix of these hoops last spring with tiny plant starts. Some of these starts are still producing the delicious kale you see in the photo below.)
During the warm season, the covering is a lightweight, breathable horticultural fleece (aka floating row cover). During the cold season, the hoops are covered with heat retaining plastic. During times when the Pineapple Express weather systems pass through bringing rainfall and warm temperatures, I roll back the plastic to allow the plants a deep drink of fresh rainwater. Best these leafy greens not bloom, but I couldn’t pass up sharing a shot of one bed filled with arugula, lacinato kale, rainbow chard, savoy cabbage, pak choi, carrots, thyme, winter savory and butter lettuce. Each week, we harvest from this patch to donate to our local food bank. It’s really not hard to incorporate edibles in the garden and produce more than enough to share with hungry neighbors. Consider this post for ideas on ways you can help grow enough food to feed yourself and share with your community.
Fall Color in the garden
Okay, back to photos of the garden. A long shot showing another view of the aforementioned hoop house as well as lots of fall color and dots of colorful blooms like Japanese Anemone and the unparalleled blue of poisonous Aconitum popping beautifully against the clear yellow of its climbing hydrangea backdrop. In the distance, another view of the Lagerstroemia in Red near a lovely Acer triflorum coloring yellowish orange. Mid-shot, a laceleaf Japanese Maple just beginning to show its autumn oranges. Beneath it, unseen, a carpet of hardy cyclamen in pinks and whites. Foliage truly adds year-round color and dimension to the garden. Every plant has its moment (or moments) in this garden!
A View from the Dry Front Porch
Here we see the front garden from the only outdoor dry spot (except for inside the greenhouse). Potted red geraniums continue to bloom, despite neglect. A stray zinnia blooms a clashing pink near the red crepe myrtle. Purple-blue Monkshood and Russian Sage mingle with (unseen) pink kaffir lily. Red Love Lies Bleeding drapes the ground under the weight of rain. The waterfeature, so perceptually cooling in summer, seems superfluous in the heavy rains of fall. Nearby, unseen firey dahlias provide last blossoms that turn rapidly to mush in the rain.
Soon, the fantastic colors of fall will be gone.
Blooming Arbutus unedo near Blueberries and Vine Maple
The Acer triflorum will hold its brown leaves into winter until winds finally blow the tree clean by early spring. Nearby Acer griseum have yet to show their fall color. Perhaps they will be worthy of sharing by November’s bloom day. Blueberries and Vine Maples (seen at right), brilliant in tones of yellow, red and orange will soon be reddish twigs for the winter ahead. Hostas and peonies (unseen), now turning tones of yellow, orange, red and brown will soon fade, be cut to the ground and hide beneath the soil until spring’s return. The lovely evergreen Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo seen at right) will maintain winter interest in the garden long after the fruit it now holds ripens to colors of rainbow sherbet. Plus, this sturdy shrub offers up white blossoms in October to brighten up our dreary, wet gray autumn days.
