My Gardens in October of 2015

I am so behind with my garden posts that I debated on whether or not I should just leave out the rest of my photos from the end of last year. I decided that since I use this blog as a garden journal, I wanted to include them, even though they are months old at this point. So here goes it...

My Kitchen Garden in October of 2015

The garden was definitely winding down in October. The Gift Zinnias were still blooming their glorious red color, though, in the kitchen garden. I started to loose hope on my Brussels Sprouts, but I still thought the sweet potatoes might turn out ok.

I did manage to get a few Garden Salsa Peppers.

Indigo Ruby Tomatoes, at last!

A few nasturtiums hanging on.

A fall bounty of asters, Gift Zinnias, mint, Rainbow Chard, yellow Tumbling Tom Tomatoes, Doe Peppers, and Garden Salsa peppers.

The grass in the kitchen garden took on a fall glow.

Fall colors in the kitchen garden.

 My Flower Garden in October of 2015

Roses were hanging on in October. Colorblaze Lime Time Coleus added a pop of brightness to the increasingly drab-colored garden this time of the year.

Bright magenta roses with Joe Pye Weed and white Butterfly Bush.

More roses put on a last minute show.

 Sedum with dried Purple Coneflower seed-heads.

Dried Joe Pye Weed with Purple Coneflower seed-heads and the white-blooming Butterfly Bush a few weeks later.

Winnie was framed by dried Joe Pye Weed.

Pretty Aster.

These hydrangea flowers take on a pink hue in the fall.

This variety does, too.

A few weeks later they were drying up.

The other side of the back yard, basking in the warm glow of the fall sun.

The Secret Garden area in the fall.

Herbs were still at the ready by the back door - Sage and Thyme.

My bog pots, which contain my carnivorous Pitcher Plants, always look great just as it is getting too cold to leave them outside.

When I heard of our first chance of frost, I brought in all of the exposed potted plants. This is always a bit of a chore. I put them on the screened-in back porch, then have to trek them all through the house into the greenhouse, since there is no outside access to it.

My Front Porch in October of 2015

The front porch plants lasted much longer than usual last year, due to warmer weather. I still had some blooms when I decorated for Christmas! I had moved my Dragon Wing Begonias to the fern stand because they got so leggy in the hanging baskets. I replaced the baskets with yellow mums.

The giant-leafed plants are Gryphon Begonias. They got so big and dramatic by fall.

In the basket above the Gryphons – Silverdust and a red-blooming Begonia.

 No fall decorations are complete without mums.

Other Begonias and a Maindenhair Fern. I wish I could find the tag for the green Begonia with the dark red marks in the center because that one is still thriving in my greenhouse right now.

Where Did December Go?

So apparently I didn’t take ANY garden photos in December. Not surprising since there isn’t much happening that time of the year, other than the birds attacking the bird feeder. I did do two blog posts in December, one about decorating with greens and the other about the plants in the greenhouse. I think this is the shortest blog post ever!

Decorating with Greens for the Holiday

I love decorating with live greens for Christmas. It’s my way of keeping the gardening spirit alive even in the colder months. Some years I’ve made boxwood tabletop topiaries, other times I’ve arranged greens in vases inside, or in pots or a pail on the porch, and I always make my own wreath (either from scratch or starting with a basic wreath of greens). I never remember to take photos for my blog, though, so this year I made sure I did.

My first purchase this year was a simple wreath made of just boxwood. I have always wanted a boxwood wreath and they are hard to come by in my area for some reason, or you’ll find them and they won’t look so great or they are really expensive. This year we happened to be at Terhune Orchards the weekend after Thanksgiving and I saw they had these beautiful boxwood wreaths at a very reasonable price and I couldn’t resist. I added a gold bow, a few pinecones and holly and viola, instant festive wreath – simple, yet elegant. (Don’t tell the neighbors, but I cut the holly from their holly tree that overhangs our yard – ssshhhhhh!)

The two-tiered pot by the front door stays there year-round, so I like to fill it with greens. (The pole with basket on top came from Kinsman Company.) I get lots of loose greens from Bartram’s Gardens. It has been an annual tradition for many, many years to go there with my mom. They have piles of loose greens and you stuff as much as you can into a brown bag and pay $10 for each bag. What a bargain!

This year I got some pretty magnolia leaves, blue spruce, and other greens from Bartram’s, plus the holly from my neighbor’s yard and some twigs from my own yard. There are pine cones tucked in here and there, too. Those drop into my yard from my neighbor’s pine tree. (I wonder if they know that two of their trees help me decorate from Christmas each year.) I decorated the rim of the top basket with silver Christmas balls this year.

For two of my hanging baskets, I got this idea to fill them with greens. I had seen something similar at the Plow and Hearth store using fake greens and thought, hey, I can do that with real greens. Again, I decorated the rim with Christmas balls, this time silver and red. That was a last minute idea I had come up with.

We usually put a live Christmas tree on the front porch and decorate it with lights, beads, and Christmas balls. We ran out of time this year, so that is why you see the silver and red balls on the hanging baskets instead!

I like to add a little holiday cheer to the greenhouse, too. I keep strings of white lights in there all year round, but for Christmas I like a poinsettia or some other festive plant, besides the two Christmas Cactus plants and the Cyclamen that I always have. This year I found a Lemon Cypress at Whole Foods. The bright, green color really caught my eye.

I had made these candle decorations many years ago. They actually sit on my fireplace mantel the rest of the year. They are in little terra-cotta pots with dried flowers and mini pine cones.

I picked up the tradition from my mom of decorating the fireplace mantel with greens. I add lights and Christmas decorations.

I like to add animal decorations, sometimes made out of natural materials, so that it looks kind of like a little forest. This first little owl came from Plow and Hearth.

This stuffed bird on top of a pine cone and the two little reindeer below also came from Plow and Hearth.

We haven’t done a tree inside for the past few years, since we had our two cats, Molly and Izzy. My old cat, Montague, used to climb the tree when he was young, but stopped doing it when he was older. Izzy is a climber and I know she would be up that tree in a shot, and is big enough to take it down with her. So until she “matures” and we feel like we can trust her, no inside tree for us.

I will keep my decorations up for a little while longer, however, the cut greens do start to look dry after awhile. I enjoy it while it lasts. I hope you and yours had a happy holiday!

Beginning of May

Is it really May already? I guess it must be because the dogwood and wisteria are in full bloom.

I love this view from the screened-in porch right now. The brightly colored leaves of the spirea, against the dark, wine-colored ninebark, with the white flowers of the dogwood, and the lavender wisteria flowers make for a really great plant combination. To think, just a couple of years ago this area was an overgrown mess.

The wisteria on the shed and greenhouse is in full bloom now, too. The entire yard smells divine. It is one of my favorite fragrances.

More wisteria on the front porch.

We even have wisteria growing up a big, old tree – seen here with a magenta-colored azalea, which is the only one blooming at the moment.

Another purplish color that is in bloom is the lilac in the front yard. I had rescued this a few years ago from invasive wisteria vines.

I wish I could remember what this pink bulb is. I believe it’s a type of miniature tulip. I planted them maybe two or three years ago in the flower garden and in front of the shed. Need to look up in my previous year’s garden material to see if I can find the name.

I planted three of these Sugar and Spice Foamflowers (Tiarella) last year and all three are doing really well. They are under the tree that is to the left of the entrance to the Kitchen Garden.

In that same area, I had also planted these Variegated Solomon’s Seal. They seem pretty happy here and have spread since I planted them last year.

The flower garden is starting to come to life. Seems like I notice something new every day. It is such an exciting time of the year.

My vegetable seeds are busy trying to grow under the row covers in my raised beds. I can’t wait for fresh veggies. I was about two weeks later than usual getting my seeds planted, due to working on my final project for my web design class. It will be interesting to see how that effects my Kitchen Garden this year. That reminds me, I need to post my list and diagram of what I planted this year. Must get on that.

It was a windy weekend, but I got quite a lot done. I will be sure to post some pictures soon of what I accomplished while trying not to blow away.