On Beauty

These flowers of Anemone x hybrida 'Andrea Atkinson' were frozen in bloom.

What is beauty?  Is it truly in the eye of the beholder?  Or is there some standard, such as the so-called "golden ratio"?  Can there be beauty in ruined blooms?  I believe so.

I very much doubt one must have an artist's eye to appreciate the beauty here,

Freeze-dried buds and seedheads of A. 'Andrea Atkinson'

of form, line and subtle coloration.  Or am I wrong, and merely refusing to accept the reality of the end of the gardening season?

Wildflower Wednesday: At the End Of All Things

Once a month, Gail, of Clay and Limestone, asks us to post about wildflowers.  This month there are no blooms, but foliage should not be overlooked.

The Hepaticas have assumed their winter dress.  They are the only evergreen wildflowers in my garden.  Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa, above, has the better coloring, a glowing ruby.

It is already forming the buds for next spring.


Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, below, is usually a dull dark purple now, but this plant behaves differently from its sibilings.  (That's the wild violet, Viola sororia, with the green leaves.)

It blooms much more profusely, forms a larger clump, and turns color later in autumn.  It's a happier plant, and I don't know why, as it is situated at the base of a cottonwood tree, where not much else is thriving.  I guess this is a "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" or "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" situation.

It's the last hurrah for Polemium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven', one of the first plants to sprout in earliest spring, with pink and cream and green foliage.

It's fitting that it should be the last wildflower to show its autumn finery.

Meteorological winter begins next week, and the snows can't be far behind.  Another gardening year has come to an end.  The willows shed their leaves in the wind, and soon all will become the muted.  It is a time for taking stock and counting blessings.

A Lesson From History

I am, among other things, a student of history.  There are scholars who assert that we shouldn't bother with learning history written by "old, dead white guys," that the history of the losers, of the "little people" is just as valuable and should be taught instead.  Hogwash! There's a good reason why the history of ancient Rome has long been studied:  it has much to teach us.  While all history must be taken with a grain of salt and there is evidence to the contrary, the rumors and stories about Augustus and Livia are particularly instructive.

Yes, that Augustus, the one called Octavius until he maneuvered himself into becoming Caesar.  He was intelligent and very politically savvy.  Why he married Livia is a mystery, but  according to ancient historians, she married him because she wanted her son to become Caesar.  (Had women been allowed to rule, she would have wanted to do so in her own right.)   And what's the best, quickest way for him to become Caesar?  Eliminate all of Augustus's presumptive heirs, have Tiberius adopted by Augustus, and then have Augustus meet a premature end.  At some point, Augustus, astute politico that he was, figured out what was up.  He also knew Livia's weapon of choice was poison.  Rather than alert her to his suspicions by having someone taste his food for him, Augustus opted to eat only figs that he personally picked off his trees.

Now, while Augustus was smart, Livia was smarter.  She came up with a very clever solution.  She coated each of the fruits on the trees with poison.  Her plan succeeded, Augustus dropped dead, and Tiberius became Caesar.

I wonder what poison Livia used?

The Promise of Spring

Clematis 'Madame Julia Correvon'

The garden is winding down for its long winter nap.  But as I feed the soil with a top dressing of compost and leaf mold, I find tantalizing hints of spring. While the Clematis above might be confused or just optimistic, I suspect the other precocious plants are just doing what they always do.

I know Galanthus elwesii always starts sprouting in November.

If it's warm enough,  the giant snowdrop can even begin blooming in December.

The herbaceous peony has some ruby nubs showing already.  I discovered them when I cut down and discarded the old peony foliage to prevent disease.

Such a tough, long-lived plant certainly isn't confused by whatever weather we happen to get.  I just dumped a bit of compost on it.

The Sanguinaria canadensis definitely isn't confused,

but I'm confused as to why it keeps working its way out of the soil?  I keep burying it in leaf mold, which I did once again shortly after taking this shot.

These last two shots I took with my phone camera while I was working spreading the good stuff.  I had already buried one and partially covered the other before I realized I should take a shot of them.  The darker stuff is leaf mold, while the gray is the soil.

Dicentra cucullaria

This is Dutchman's breeches, which has also beached itself on the surface.  Some of the bulblets appear to be waking up.  I took a few bulblets of it and replanted them in scattered places in the garden, then dumped more leaf mold on there.


This Trillium is next to the Dutchman's breeches. I sure hope it's not confused.  There's only one of this species, as it was mislabeled as Trillium grandiflorum.  It doesn't seem to be able to cross with the sole remaining T. grandiflorum.  I'm looking forward to the ground freezing, so I can cover the wildflowers with shredded leaves and not worry about them until March.

Three for Thursday: Late Fall Tasks

Three for Thursday is the brainchild of Cindy at From My Corner of Katy.  This week, I'm moving it indoors.

Bringing the tender woodies inside

Clockwise from top rightL Fuschia species, Oxalis triangularis 'Purpurea', Coleus,  Pelargonium species, and Duranta

There they are, this year's collection of plants I will attempt to overwinter in the house.  I moved the Pelargonium out of the blue pot, I don't know why, and stuffed the Fuschia in there instead.  (I did divide the Pelargonium and replanted only a third of it.)  The Fuschia has gotten larger, but it could have gone into the pot where the Pelargonium now sits.  I did learn an important lesson about the Fuschia this summer - it doesn't like to be in a hanging basket when temperatures are in the 90sF.  So next summer (assuming it survives), it will be in an earthbound container, but I don't know which one.  I have a feeling the Pelargonium will be back in the blue pot.  New this year is the gold-foliaged Duranta.  Wish I knew where its tag is, but I had intended to treat it as an annual, so I didn't worry about the tag.  But then it looked so good and was growing so well, I didn't have the heart to let it succumb to the cold.  Whether it succumbs to my abysmal watering habits remains to be seen.  Have I mentioned how much I love that purple-leaved Oxalis?

Seed collecting with the Seed Keeper Kit
I know I've posted about the Seed Keeper kit before, but this is the new deluxe kit, which I received free to trial.

It's got more helpful items included, such as a magnifying glass and a seed cleaning thingy.  Having a Seed Keeper has helped me keep my seeds organized.  It even encouraged me to collect seeds from the tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa 'Ofjui-nishiki'.  I have no interest in growing one from seed, so whoever would like to give it a try, I'd be happy to send you some or all of them.

Bulb Forcing

'City of Haarlem'

While I potted up most of my bulbs for forcing a few weeks ago, I'm just now putting the hyacinths on their water.  Then they'll go into the dark of the cabinet in the garage for a while.  I'm going to wait another week before I start the paperwhite narcissus, as they sprout pretty quickly.

And on a side note, while driving, please be alert to deer.  It's the season of craziness, when they bolt into the road regardless of the approach of vehicles. The timely sounding of my horn warned off a group of them about to dash into the road from a field in the middle of the day, although dawn and dusk are the most dangerous times.  My husband informed me there was an injured deer lying on the pavement of a four-lane divided highway a few mornings back during the morning rush.

The Grand Finale: Foliage Followup

*
Welcome to the Squirrelhaven edition of Foliage Followup, the once a month showcase of all things foliage suggested by Pam at Digging.  The festival of fall foliage is coming to an end, which means the most intense colors right now, such as the bright red of the Penstemon 'Dark Towers' pictured above with an edge of frost.

Most of the woody plants are blown but those still waving their flags are zingers.

Cornus kousa possibly 'Beni Fuji'

Calycanthus floridus 'Athens'

Paeonia suffruticosa 'Ofuji-nishiki'

'Ofuji-nishiki' tree peony

dark-leaved smokebush

Cotinus coggyria 'Nordine'


Believe it or not, this is a Forsythia.

One of the Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey'.  At this point, most of the color is from the perennials and grasses.


On fire is the best way to describe the fall foliage of the former smooth aster 'Bluebird'.

Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird'

It's the best of the ex-asters for fall color, red, purple, yellow and orange all swirled together like some 60s trip.

While I'm drawn to the autumn reds,

this Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa has shades of pink as well.

Of course red and yellow together are even better.

Aquilegia vulgaris seedling

Geum triflorum

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides and Bergenia cordifolia 'Bressingham White'

And then there are the yellows:

You don't hear much about the fall color of the native wild ginger, Asarum canadense.  There are pools of gold across the woodland garden now.

Can you name the following plant?

Here's a hint, it grows in full sun and has blue flowers.*


Hylotelephium 'Becka' is surrounded by the fallen beauty of the smokebush and the maple from across the street.


These plants were lost under a Symphyotrichum oblongifolius until I cut it back.

Now the subtle beauty of Clematis 'Evisix' (Petit Faucon) and the free trial plant Monarda 'Grand Marshall' can be enjoyed.

Little bluestem 'Carousel' (also a free trial plant), seems to float in a sea of maple leaves.

The foliage of the Baptisia is still green, while the grass provides the color.



Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee', Viola labradorica, and Heuchera 'Lime Rickey


I failed to include this Geranium nodosum 'Svelte Lilac' in my post about Geraniums' fall foliage.

There are other plants showing their fall foliage colors, but I'm out of time and out of room.  I hope you enjoyed the show.

*The mystery plant is Dracocephalum 'Fuji Blue'.

November 2010 Bloom Day: The Fat Lady Has Taken The Stage

Diascia

but she's not singing yet.  Indian summer ended Friday, and the wild winds that speeded its departure reduced the trees to bare skeletons.  There have been frosts and freezes, and yet a few sturdy plants keep going in spite of it all.  I don't usually show annuals for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but I figure, if a plant is willing to bloom now,  it deserves to be showcased.  So here are the annuals:

Antirrhinum species

snapdragons are known for their cold-hardiness, which is why I planted one in a container this year. There were more, but the lack of rain did them in.

In a surprising performance, a petunia is still spitting out a few blooms.

I showed this petunia last month. It has become more purple in the colder weather.

Sweet alyssum is more like a perennial in my garden, self-sowing and frothing over the Nanoprairie's edge reliably every year.

Lobularia maritima

I really don't care that it's not a native plant, or that it might look slightly out of place here. It's still blooming, and that's good enough for me.

Behind the sweet alyssum is the very last bloom of the asters and ex-asters.

Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird'

'Bluebird' smooth blue ex-aster is now more noticeable for its fantastic fall foliage color.

Behind the ex-asters and grasses, Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' is still chugging away.

There are fewer flowers and the foliage has seen better days.

Geranium 'Blogold' (Blue Sunrise) is winding down,

but the incredible Geranium 'Bob's Blunder' hasn't skipped a beat.

I even cut some of it to use in an arrangement for a gallery reception at the library Friday.

Also still in fine form is the Korean mum, 'Sheffield'.

It would look even better if the cucumber beetles hadn't returned during last week's warm spell.  Look closely at the upper left corner and you'll see the foliage of the mum is beginning to turn.

Finally, not a bloom, but worthy of inclusion, the calyxes of Heptacodium miconiodes are fading away.

The show is nearly over, and I'm not quite ready for the snow to fly, but it won't be long now.  The fat lady is taking a deep breath.

If you want to see blooms in their prime, visit Carol, at May Dreams Gardens, where bloggers from more southerly climes will undoubtedly post links to their pictures of them.

Geraniums* for Fall Foliage Color

*
After I posted a shot of the above seedling Geranium,  Scott, of  Rhone Street Gardens, asked what was the best Geranium for fall foliage color.   I will now answer that question in my best lawyerly fashion:  it depends.

If you like orange, it's hard to beat Geranium 'Bob's Blunder'.

The dark espresso leaves turn a warm orange.

Another good orange is the foliage of Geranium macrorrhizum.

But as can be seen from the photo, there's a lot of yellow in there too.

The foliage of Geranium 'Blogold' (Blue Sunrise) is chartreuse for most of the growing season, but in autumn, it turns bright yellow and red.

autumnal tones of Geranium 'Blogold' (Blue Sunrise)

It's still blooming.


Its cousin Rozanne (Geranium 'Gerwat') displays four colors at once, the fading green, yellow, orange and red.

Geranium 'Gerwat' (Rozanne) in full autumn color

But, as I told Scott at the time, the best, most consistently colorful Geranium for autumn foliage is the native  G. maculatum.

Its red leaves shine like a beacon in the sunlight, and on cloudy days provides spots of interest among the dried, fallen leaves.

G. maculatum with the dried foliage of Smilacina racemosa a/k/a Maianthemum racemosum on October 22

Really, all of them are great for adding color to the autumn garden, and all of them are great garden plants.

* * *
Here's a late addition.

It shows the difference between Geranium maculatum on the left and Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' on the right.

*Pelargoniums, which are often called geraniums, are not related to any of the plants in this post and are not hardy here in Zone 5.