Frost and Fog

At the beginning of December a few dry but chilly days gave a mysterious air to the garden, and softened the colours on the few remaining leaves and shrivelling flower heads. Maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Sarabande') has turned pale gold and contrasts well with the frosty blue leaves of my lavender hedge.







Across the front path, stems of Sedum "Autumn Joy' are a similar colour ...







... and its once-vibrant flowers look all the better for a dusting of frost.

 

Daphne 'Eternal Fragrance', which has hardly been without flowers all year long, is now taking a short break, but its tiny pink buds are still visible. An outline of frost on each leaf makes it look like a variegated variety.

Behind the house most of the perennials have retreated underground, but there are still a few green, red and gold highlights, ...



 

including the last few leaves of smoke bush (Cotinus 'Grace') still hanging on in the shelter of our pergola wall.

Frost and Fog

At the beginning of December a few dry but chilly days gave a mysterious air to the garden, and softened the colours on the few remaining leaves and shrivelling flower heads. Maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Sarabande') has turned pale gold and contrasts well with the frosty blue leaves of my lavender hedge.



Across the front path, stems of Sedum "Autumn Joy' are a similar colour ...



... and its once-vibrant flowers look all the better for a dusting of frost.
 

Daphne 'Eternal Fragrance', which has hardly been without flowers all year long, is now taking a short break, but its tiny pink buds are still visible. An outline of frost on each leaf makes it look like a variegated variety.

Behind the house most of the perennials have retreated underground, but there are still a few green, red and gold highlights, ...

 
including the last few leaves of smoke bush (Cotinus 'Grace') still hanging on in the shelter of our pergola wall.

Mid-November: Winding Down

In early November, most deciduous shrubs began to drop their leaves. Just about the last to quit, Rosa pimpinellifolia was still creating a pretty mosaic of leaves and shrivelling rosehips.

A favourite annual of mine, Nicotiana langsdorffii,  sown so late that it is only now putting on a show of little lime-green trumpets on tall thin stems, has so far remained impervious to the chilly nights. Nevertheless, it looks a little out of place among all the warm colours of fall.

On the fence beyond, the leaves of a young Parthenocissus henryana are turning red and complementing the aging bracts on Hydrangea 'Kiyosumi' nearby.

 Most of the Hosta have collapsed into slimy yellowish-grey heaps, but a few are dying a little more elegantly in shades of mustard yellow.

Salix nakamura var. yezoalpina has also gone to mustard tones, and is beginning to reveal its snaking branches that contribute some structure to that area in winter.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' nearby has a few yellow echoes in its leaves and a rather violent contrast in its flowers that are aging from rusty red to an intense magenta.

Around the middle of the month, heavy rain and one very stormy, windy day put paid to the autumn show. From now on, there will be just a few bright patches to carry through to the end of the year: skimmias and heuchera ...

... and Euphorbia 'Glacier Blue', which remains unfazed by rain, wind and frost.

 

Mid-November: Winding Down

In early November, most deciduous shrubs began to drop their leaves. Just about the last to quit, Rosa pimpinellifolia was still creating a pretty mosaic of leaves and shrivelling rosehips.

A favourite annual of mine, Nicotiana langsdorffii,  sown so late that it is only now putting on a show of little lime-green trumpets on tall thin stems, has so far remained impervious to the chilly nights. Nevertheless, it looks a little out of place among all the warm colours of fall.

On the fence beyond, the leaves of a young Parthenocissus henryana are turning red and complementing the aging bracts on Hydrangea 'Kiyosumi' nearby.
 Most of the Hosta have collapsed into slimy yellowish-grey heaps, but a few are dying a little more elegantly in shades of mustard yellow.

Salix nakamura var. yezoalpina has also gone to mustard tones, and is beginning to reveal its snaking branches that contribute some structure to that area in winter.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' nearby has a few yellow echoes in its leaves and a rather violent contrast in its flowers that are aging from rusty red to an intense magenta.

Around the middle of the month, heavy rain and one very stormy, windy day put paid to the autumn show. From now on, there will be just a few bright patches to carry through to the end of the year: skimmias and heuchera ...

... and Euphorbia 'Glacier Blue', which remains unfazed by rain, wind and frost.

 

Hummingbird alert!

This morning I sighted an Anna's hummingbird in the garden for the first time ever. It was probably attracted by my Mahonia 'Winter Sun', which I planted for just that reason and which is now in full bloom.

Hummingbird alert!

This morning I sighted an Anna's hummingbird in the garden for the first time ever. It was probably attracted by my Mahonia 'Winter Sun', which I planted for just that reason and which is now in full bloom.

Mid-October - The Show Continues

The deeper we fall in Fall, the more I'm pleased with how my garden is performing. Plants that shine at just this time of year continue to prove their worth.

The foliage of oakleaf hydrangea 'Sike's Dwarf' is brighter than ever, slowly turning from deep burgundy to flaming red.

Next to it, Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' is now golden with purple and scarlet highlights.

From the back steps, the view takes in Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate' with its fuzzy white flowers and the still-blooming Aconitum 'Arendsii' behind it. Dying peony leaves, fresh growth on lovage (Levisticum officinale), a few rose hips on Rosa gallica 'Versicolor' and a second crop of flowers on a globe thistle (Echinops ritro) fill the foreground. (Wait! Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate' has now been reclassified as Ageratina altissima 'Chocolate'.)

Wisps of mosquito grass still fill the urn, flanked by a clipped silvery sage and Aster lateriflorus 'Lady in Black'. (Wait! The aster is now Symphyotrichum lateriflorum 'Lady in Black', thanks to those clever taxonomists who never settle for a two-syllable name if they can change it to a five-syllable one.)

There's even a single flower cluster on Astrantia 'Roma', reminding me to add some fall interest to the bed it's in, where it is the only contributor right now.

The front garden is more sedate, although Japanese maple Acer 'Waterfall' is doing its best to add some interest, backed by Sedum 'Autumn Joy' whose flowers, as I've mentioned in an earlier post, have struggled to maintain their colour in this year's unseasonal heat.

An echoing bright spark across the path comes from the last leaves of Begonia grandis rising over the polished dark green of Beesia calthifolia, which will remain shiny and fresh all through the winter. The splash of red comes from the underside of one of the begonia's fallen leaves.