Turkey Tail

Trametes versicolor the Turkey Tail fungus has formed a complete circle over the decaying stump of an old crabapple tree that we took down several years ago.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/turkey_tail.htm

You can use these in decorations if you carefully remove them from a tree stump or decaying log as you can see from the photo below.  If they touch water they will become dark and as they dry revert to their natural color  so that might mean you can use them to detect when your arrangement needs water. 

Good for wreaths also if they are big enough.

Carrots

Made a quick run out to the garden today breezy & cold out there. We have had some rain though so decided to pull some carrots. The foliage is great looking and a few interplanted lettuce are still OK.

I am obviously not the world's greatest carrot grower but I was excited to get veg for dinner. The variation in size is interesting, could it be I didn't thin properly? Of course but they are still sweet & local. I saw Bill Lord on 'Almanac Gardener' say you could harvest them through the winter by just leaving them in the ground just my kind of no work solution. The pale ones are supposed to be woody and bitter but these are fine. Growing in a raised bed with very loose soil created over the last 12 years they are quite nicely shaped though not uniform...thank goodness!

Decorating from the Garden

I have been thinking a lot about using natural materials from the garden for decorations.
There are so many berries on the exotic invasive Ligustrum (privet) that grows in the surrounding woods. It really has taken over from the native undergrowth & now becoming practically the only species in there. Noticing the huge panicles of black berries I decided to cut some & use them in a wreath along with other exotics such as Elaeagnus (Thorny Olive). Elaeagnus pungens was planted (not by us) as a hedge at the back of our garden many years ago and is now trying to take over. Gradually trying to cut it back allowed me to make the base for this wreath.

It really does have the loveliest silver backed leaves. The black Ligustrum berries add interest and a spray of pink berries from the Chinese Pistache tree and seed pods from Formosa Lily complete my exotic wreath . I hope we can start a trend of using these exotic seed carriers in decorations & at least prevent a few new offspring from invading our woods.

A Garden Full of Thanks

Even though the holiday has come & gone here are a few things in my garden that gave me pleasure on a warm day recently.

Above the winter foliage of Viburnum burkwoodii whose flowers have fantastic fragrance in the middle of winter encouraging you to go out in the garden.
http://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/viburnum-x-burkwoodii/

Above Quercus nigra the huge Water Oak which shades half the house looses it's leaves over a long period of winter. Not sure if that is good or bad. A native looking lovely in it's fall dress.

At left the rain garden sans Swamp Sunflower & Goldenrod thanks to my husband who pulled them all up & shredded them back on to the ground. 
Hooray for Helpful Husbands!
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=73

The Natives are Restless

 Not all our trees are native to the SE USA but most are. These three deciduous ones show off their fall color before providing free mulch

Mockernut Hickory  Carya tomentosa  Squirrels love this tree and so do we. The fall yellow is spectacular. One of our dear departed dogs used to crunch open the nuts which have the tiniest kernel of food inside hence the common name.

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=22

Bald Cypress Taxodium disticum has some kind of borer but seems to be fighting it off. I will be devastated if it succumbs. We will have to increase it's bed as my husband cannot duck low enough to mow around it anymore.

 Fringe Tree Chionanthus virginicus this turns out to be the female, it is said the male tree has showier flowers in spring but this is lovely just the same, forms a pleasing shape and turns this nice yellow before it drops it's leaves.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/trees/hgic1027.html

Carolina Aster

A native plant of the south-east USA this lovely climber is a treat for us and the many pollinators that populate it before winter sets in. Faintly fragrant it winds it's way through whatever you provide. No stickers or tendrils to help it just a will to wind.

Mine is at the front of the rain garden covering a pole & a dead curly willow. (A weeping willow & a tri-coloured willow also died in the rain garden so I think I've got the message now!)

Aster carolinianus or Ameplaster carolinianus as it maybe now known can be cut back in the spring to curb it's enthusiasm if you must. A few seedlings but even in the rain garden not much to worry about. I'd love to see this take over from Japanese Honeysuckle in the surrounding woods but it is not nearly as vigorous.

Sassafras & Sasanqua

A Sassafras tree has popped up in the little wood. The deer have browsed it a bit but I have been able to start a couple of root suckers as insurance. I have seen photos of magnificent fall color when planted in more sun so am trying a rooted piece out in the front lot where the persimmon died.

Here Camellia sasanqua 'Apple Blossom' can be seen through the leaves of Sassafras albidum http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SAAL5

Camellia sasanqua

Once I lived at an old homesite in Bladen County NC. It had been professionally landscaped at least 40 years before with lots of lovely Camellias. I was fortunate to be able to propagate some of them & bring them with me.  Now large shrubs, these old varieties are a lovely reminder of that country place & a glorious addition to our current garden.

'Cleopatra' brought to Alabama from Japan about  1929 this semi double is tough as nails. Can be used as a hedge you often see it clipped into balls or squares (unfortunately).
It is one of the first "sasanquas" to bloom.

Mine-no-yuki (snow on the ridge)
brought to the USA in the 1890's seems to have a more open habit & loads of blooms. At the old garden I called it The Thanksgiving Camellia as it always seemed to be in bloom at that time. Try this with the foliage of Artemisia 'Powis Castle' for a magnificent monochromatic arrangement. Semi-double to Peony form it is slightly ragged looking which I prefer to the formal blooms.

Frost

A pretty good frost a few nights ago melted the tender members of the garden.

I am disappointed that I did not harvest more of the runner beans for dinner.
They were late to produce and thinking that they would succumb long before they did I left them to dry for next years seed but they kept on making more. As usual I vowed to do better next year.
The seeds are a striking black with purple blotches. See below

Scarlet Runners take at least 100 days to produce edible beans. More work to prep than snap beans as they must have the strings removed, some grow them just for the flowers.

At The Curb

Gaura lindheimeri displaying  a last flush of flowers with Muhly grass in the background.

Mexican Sunflower (bottom) & Gaillardia make a brilliant contrast against the Hardy Ageratum.

Hardy Chrysanthemums just starting to bloom last week.

Mexican Bush Sage

Salvia leucantha the Mexican Bush Sage is listed as one of the top ten Texas plants one of mine too I absolutely love the all purple variety that is in the circle & driveway. The bicolored variety with white corollas & purple calyx, which is also in the circle, is just as good but I was slightly put off it by the description of the flowers from an acquaintance. She thought it looked like the parasitic wasp larvae on tobacco horn worms!      http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-04_braconid_wasp_on_hornworm.htm

Above the bicolor in the circle after 10 years has become 7ft tall & wide. Self seeding annuals, bulbs & yarrow take up this space in the spring.

Right & below with the deciduous Holly Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' on the driveway.

Right with Lantana 'Miss Huff' and the Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia 'Torch') now 8ft tall, from seed this year, amazing.
Below with Miss Huff;  Salvia 'Indigo Spires' & the Catmint (Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant') which the Chicago Botanic Garden lists as the archetypal catmint. 

The Rain Garden

Ourageous in October, as usual, the rain garden is in it's glory.

The Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' at the edge makes a nice neat start to the rain garden.
 Only about 4ft tall including flowers spikes you can have this ornamental grass even in a small garden.

Aster tataricus 'Jindai'

Growing on the wild park-side edge of the garden next to an Oakleaf Hydrangea & somewhat shaded by pine & fig trees the Tartarian Aster this year is blooming well for something that should grow in full sun. Usually mowed down by rabbits maybe after 10 years it has established enough to withstand the assault. It is said to be aggressively spreading http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=y150
not much chance of that here.

Salvia microphylla 'San Marcos Festival'

Summer seems reluctant to move on and we are having 80 degree days but nice cool nights. 
I saw a pair of humming birds feeding on the re-blooming Vitex (Chaste Tree) this morning.

So many fall flowers, Salvia microphylla 'San Marcos Festival' (little leaf sage) enjoying this warm dry weather is one of my favorites. This cultivar is low growing & spreading in my garden & has a great spring & fall flush of flowers. The buds of the evergreen hardy Chrysanthemum 'Hillside Sheffield Pink' intermingle.

Fall Fungi

Seen in the garden the last few days.

When we turned over a branch that had been laying on the ground for months as part of a rustic fence this brilliant blue/violet fungi was so startling I had to take a picture.

 Several years ago we had a decaying water oak taken down in the little wood. The 3 ft stump was left and I had visions of growing mushrooms on it. Then I saw squirrels munching on toadstools in the garden and gave up that idea. The stump now produces fresh fungi for other creatures.

Squirrels use the flat top of the stump as a dining table 

A Faded Rose

I love the way this rose changes color as it fades away. It is one of the Hybrid Teas that were in the circle when we bought the house 12 years ago. Amazingly still going despite my careless attitude toward these high maintenance plants

 In the background below you can see the pale apricot color when it first blooms & the tiny flowers of Persicaria 'Red Dragon'
http://www.plantdelights.com/Persicaria-microcephala-Red-Dragon-for-sale/Buy-Red-Dragon-Fleece-Flower/
The Mexican Bush Sage are the tall purple spikes below & run away Hardy Ageratum is behind the rose at right.

The pale yellow Chrysanthemum 'Ryan's Yellow' colors similarly as it ages as does Rosa mutabilis.

Autumn Joy & Friends

The last couple of days it feels like fall. The grasses are blooming and colors are deepening.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' with  Hardy Ageratum (Conoclinium colestinum) It is hard to capture the real blue of this wandering native but I wouldn't be without it even though it is hard to control it's spread. Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is just starting to open it's pink blooms I love this collaboration with Autumn Joy

Thomas Jefferson's in my Garden

Last week we were at Monticello. http://www.monticello.org/site/visit
We have not visited there for 30 years, my how it has changed!
We took the garden tour & it turns out TJ & I have some of the same plants in our gardens.  I think I actually got my Blackberry Lily seeds from Monticello many years ago. (The shop,  I didn't pinch them.)

Above, in my garden, Zinnia pauicflora (small flowered zinnia)  this seed I got from Select Seeds it is called Red Spider. It has fallen over & sprawled over a large area. My friend Pam & I saw this annual at Montrose years ago in a fall garden it was spectacular.
At left Belamcanda chinensis the 
Blackberry Lily the seed pods are opening to display the origin of it's common name.
TJ also grew the scarlet runner beans from a previous post.

I bought a packet of Purple Calabash tomato seeds as that was still producing fruit & the gardener told us it always won the tasting tests.

We shall see.

Life Goes On, Really!

My friend Teresa reminded me that I haven't added to my blog in a month. Frankly I have felt somewhat depressed about the garden. It has been a hot, humid, rainy few weeks & I have not been able to garden much for various reasons. As usual for this time of the year the weeds seem out of control. However a new yoga program and some cool days have me feeling I am going to make it!
(All this 'woe is me' must be emanating from that Victorian novel I'm reading)

Here's a hot house cyclamen Teresa gave me. I almost killed it several times since the beginning of the year & then put it outside in the ground where it bloomed finally!

Just to prove life really does go on, I noticed the lettuce (Black Seeded Simpson) plant I let go to seed in the front veggie garden has self seeded. I have collected seed from it for the spring & got the original seed free from some publication. Hooray!

Lettuce take a long time to go to seed & not the most beautiful thing in the garden whilst they are doing it.

(Halloween decoration anyone?)

But I am always delighted to see self seeding.

What's less work that that?