A HUSHED OCTOBER

 "O hushed October morning mild, Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; 

Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,Should waste them all. 

The crows above the forest call; 

Tomorrow they may form and go. 

O hushed October morning mild, 

Begin the hours of this day slow. 

Make the day seem to us less brief. 

Hearts not averse to being beguiled, 

Beguile us in the way you know. 

Release one leaf at break of day; 

At noon release another leaf; 

One from our trees, one far away."

-   Robert Frost, October

Left to right , stalwarts in my October garden :  Autumn Sage, Japanese roof iris, Hardy mums, euphorbia.

After a long hot dry summer the cooler days of October are most welcome.  Rainfall has been scarce so my watering tasks have increased.

In pursuit of my strategy to have a living mulch I  continued to purchase new perennials to add to the garden.   I especially love the various shades of euphorbia -the 'ascot rainbow ' and 'merlot ' colors are my favorites. I've also planted several varieties of hyssop or "hummingbird mint " which has really done well as have the coneflowers which I have in every color.  An outstanding perennial, "wood's blue aster " has been in continuous bloom since early summer.   I continue to love and plant Dianthus which is sold as an annual but acts like a perennial here in this mild climate.

I have failed, for the third time, to grow a gardenia, despite having  tried 3 different varieties, 3 different locations and suggested soil preparations.  I have given up.  The same with Rhododendrons.  I just tossed out my third failure and planted an azalea instead.

The days grow shorter and there is definitely a hushed October feeling in the Sweet garden.

A SONG OF SEPTEMBER

  

"Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh so mellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When grass was green and grain so yellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a young and a callow fellow

Try to remember and if you remember

Then follow--follow, oh-oh." 

 In Chicago September was the beginning of the end of summer but here in Central N.C. it is still warm although the nights are getting cooler.  The ample rainfall of July has long past and it has been a long, dry, hot summer.

I have turned my attention to the neglected vegetable garden to prepare it for the Fall planting.  Tomatoes are long gone and all that remain is green peppers.  Below are seeds that I'm planting for cool season crops.  In addition I have also planted some collard greens.  I haven't been able to find my favorite savoy cabbage yet, but its a favorite.

In the perennial garden I've found some unusual flowers to add :  'matchstick' mum, long-blooming pink wood asters to go with my blues, aralia, brazilian verbena,  'goldrush' blackeyed susans, and more dianthus.  

I've tried to get coral bells to bloom in a semi-shady area but they just don't seem to like our southern heat.  Only one cultivar -'caramel ' has survived and thrived.  I love it's color.

I'm a middle child so giving up is not something I easily do -I'm on my third attempt to grow a gardenia, something that many other gardeners find very simple.   My local garden center advised that I try adding a bio-starter when planting and so far, fingers crossed, it seems to be working.   Hoping to see some blooms next season.

Onward and upward to Fall -the real Fall of the leaves and those of us  who rake them !

 

THE SILENCE OF AUGUST

 

August

• 
• 
• 
• 

Helen Hunt Jackson

Silence again. The glorious symphony
Hath need of pause and interval of peace.
Some subtle signal bids all sweet sounds cease,
Save hum of insects’ aimless industry.
Pathetic summer seeks by blazonry
Of color to conceal her swift decrease.
Weak subterfuge! Each mocking day doth fleece
A blossom, and lay bare her poverty.
Poor middle-agèd summer! Vain this show!
Whole fields of golden-rod cannot offset
One meadow with a single violet;
And well the singing thrush and lily know,
Spite of all artifice which her regret
Can deck in splendid guise, their time to go!

       August superstars :  Korean mums and Autumn Joy sedum.  Dianthus has been in continuous bloom since Spring.

As usual August was hot and dry and the rains of July are a mere memory.  Judicious watering of thirsty plants that demanded it occupied much of my time.  I have strived to plant drought-tolerant perennials and annuals but even they had much to complain about.

The first one to fold her dropping leaves is the Chinese paperbush Edgeworthia, closely followed by the azaleas and rhododendrons.  

The only fruit ripening now is the trusty Japanese persimmon 'fuyu', shown below.   This little dwarf tree is full of fruit that will need another month to harvest.

The perennial Korean mums are starting to bud and the second blooming of the Autumn sage which hummingbirds visit daily.

Soon it will be September and time for adding and subtracting in the garden.  I want to add more pollinator's favorites such as Salvias,  Goldenrod and Agastache to the roadside garden.    

MUMS IN JULY , OH MY !

 

The gardening season this year began in February and since then many plants have bloomed much earlier than usual.  The asters were very early as were the mums, pictured above.   The red autumn sage bloomed in early March and has been in continuous bloom all summer.  The hummers, of course, love them.

I love blackeyed Susans but the variety 'goldstrum' gets too leggy by the time it blooms in July.  I found two new varieties -one petite and the other named 'American goldrush ' at the local garden center.  I'm going to dig out all the blackeyed Susans and transplant them to the roadside meadow garden this Fall.

The coneflowers I planted last year are blooming beautifully and need little attention.  I have them in pink, yellow and orange.

When I planted 'sunshine' privet a few years ago it was hardly noticeable.  I love the way it has grown rather quickly and the color it keeps year round adds lots of color and cheer all season.

I'm trying to add more silver accents and the Spanish lavender ( foreground ) seems to like it on my rocky slope as the soil is well -drained.

For reasons unknown the Japanese beetles seem to be less this year , which is a miracle as I'm usually fighting them for most of the summer.

July is the rainest month of the year here in central North Carolina but this year not so much.  A few days ago we had a deluge of 2 "  !   

I have a lot of birdhouses throughout my front forest and backyard garden and love watching them build their nests and raise their young.  Some of the birds are on their 3rd family.

The Flowery Trees and Shrubs of Summer

Looking back on previous June posts, I found one from  2012 that received a large number of visitors so I am repeating it here in case you missed it !   

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2525548268416690769/242940133001247006

THE DARLING BUDS OF MAY

 "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May."

-  William Shakespeare

May is one of the busiest of months -my birthday on May 1, followed by Mother's day and then the birthdays of my son and daughter.  I'm not hard to buy for and usually receive several gift cards to my local Garden center.

In the garden so many perennials are popping up and very early too because of our warm Spring .  Due to a December freeze I lost a lot of  my 'purple heart ' and will have to divide and transplant the overgrown ones.  The shrub roses are blooming early this year, along with the Japanese roof iris and woodland phlox.

                                                

                                           April showers bring lush flowers.

My favorite long blooming annual that acts like a perennial -dianthus  has spread and   I'm adding more this year .  

I planted deer and rabbit resistant wildflowers in my roadside pollinator garden.  The red yarrow, shasta daisies,  Japanese roof iris and catsmint have also bloomed early this season. The pollinator's favorite Lantana will need more hot weather to make its appearance.

My goal this season is to use living mulch, i.e., plants, instead of wood chips and I think I've achieved that in my boulder garden, below .  I've also planted the Oriental Poppy for the first time and various colors of coneflowers for their long bloom.

I have lots of blues and purples and to that mix I am planting flowers with yellow , red or orange blooms such as   Coreopsis   Gaura, Monarda and Black Eyed Susan .  My favorite early blooming perennial is Autumn Sage ( below ) which puts on a show from early Spring to late Fall and now comes in shades of pink, white and purple .

I'm so excited !  This is my fourth try to grow a rhododendron and this Spring I finally succeeded in getting one to bloom.   Below is Rhododendron catawbiense 'Alba'  in all her glory !

This cultivar is reputed to be one of the most vigorous and it was highly recommended by my local garden center.  Rhododendrons are difficult here to grow here in the South, probably due to our hot summers.   I planted this one in a partly sunny nook and on a berm of good soil and compost and I was finally rewarded for my efforts.

The only flower ( above ) from my Chicago garden is now blooming -the antique iris 'Loreley ' and it brings me great joy to see it .

And now out to do the task of dividing and conquering some of the more prolific flowers such as the Hellebores and Sedges !

PROUD PIED APRIL

"From you have I been absent in the spring,

When proud-pied April dress'd in all his trim
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laugh'd and leap'd with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue
Could make me any summer's story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;
Nor did I wonder at the lily's white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seem'd it winter still, and, you away,

As with your shadow I with these did play."
- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 98

                    My gardening buddy Odie is ready for Spring !

We've enjoyed an unusually mild Spring since February and almost everything is early this year.

   View of my boulder garden.  The Japanese roof iris are blooming, as is the Chinese snowball viburnum.

    My favorite annual/perennial is Dianthus which is cold-hardy here. It's a great bargain sold as annual price but it acts like a perennial.  

   A  touch of red with my early-blooming autumn sage.  In the far background the woodland phlox is blooming.

     Odie has spied one of the many lizards that live in the garden.  Woodland phlox are beautiful this year .

          April showers have been ample this month and as a result everything is lush !

Now onto the Merry Month of May !

FEBRUARY BLOOMS IN THE GARDEN

 "Probably more pests can be controlled in an armchair in front of a February fire with a garden notebook and a seed catalog that can ever be knocked out in hand-to-hand combat in the garden."

-  Neely Turner

One of my gardening goals is to have something in flower or leaf every month of the year.  Even here in central North Carolina the winter months of December-March can be challenging.

This February has been an unusually warm month starting off with 72 degrees on February 8 .  

The hellebores are still in full bloom and I've allowed them to colonize in my woodland garden.

Some gardeners consider Hellebores a nuisance since they spread prolifically but I just remedy that by inviting friends and neighbors to come dig out what they want.

February is also time for the wonderful fragrant Edgeworthia with its attractive blooms.  When the blooms are done an attractive tropical looking leaf forms.

Another great February bloomer is the evergreen clematis 'armandii ' that I have drapping over a twig trellis .

Rainfall has been ample this month and with the unseasonable warmth many Spring bloomers, including daffodils, have emerged earlier than usual.

JANUARY BRINGS NEW YEAR AND GOOD WEATHER

 

"No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference.  It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left.  It is the nativity of our common Adam." 
-  Charles Lamb 

Unlike the previous January this month brought very mild weather, with the exception of one week of freezing temperatures.  My evergreen 'Lady Banks' rose  dropped her foliage as did  some usually evergreen viburnums.  'Spring bouquet ' viburnum was an exception and was not damaged at all.  'They will however, return next Spring.  I will miss its beautiful blooms this year .

Spent a lot of time inside the studio painting when the weather was too cold to go out.

The cheerful blooms of 'Peggy Clark ' were delightful and not affected by the freeze we had .  'Kobai'  ( below ) a more shrub-like cultivar, bloomed even though it was just planted in the Fall .

Buds are forming on the variegated Daphne 'odora  '  that I planted last year.  Can't wait to smell it !

I've been doing battle with the voles who seemed to have chosen my garden to set up winter homes in.  I've spread castor oil about and coyote urine, as well as destroyed their tunnels.

I see buds forming on the evergreen clematis 'armandii ' so its unscathed as well.  I'm crossing my fingers that Spring will bring out a lot of new growth on those damaged by the freeze.

Time to start thinking about preparing the vegetable garden for Spring.  Going to plant kale, chinese broccoli, bok choy, green onions, and  spinach soon.  They can tolerate some cold temperatures.

Also working on two client's garden designs for this Spring.   Love that I can garden inside and out all year round in this mild Carolina weather !

DEEP IN DECEMBER

 Yes Virginia even in December there's still flowers blooming !  Below is the very late blooming native mum 'raydon's favorite ' that persists in this the last month of the year.

December started off mild.  I cleared the garden of excess leaves and began to battle an infestation of voles by spraying with a castor oil mixture.

Because I have a variety of evergreen and deciduous shrubs the garden has a strong structure that looks good even in the deep of December .

Below, Edgeworthia, aka, Chinese paperbush, shows off her December finery.  Her fragrance is very powerful.

Christmas week brought a deep freeze with temperatures in the teen's.  My Lady Banks rose, an evergreen, suffered damage as did other usually sturdy perennials.  Overall the good news is that many plants were able to survive.  The hellebores are going to be late this season.  

From a daytime high of 15 to 70 degrees is predicted for our New Year's day weather.