Good morning, gardeners, and welcome to the Saturday Morning Garden Blog!
At this very moment, i'm typing from a chair that sits in a room of an entire house that's been swallowed by a cloud. We've officially entered our rainy season here in the Pacific Northwest, and it's amazing how quickly we go from rain-starved to rain-soaked. As deciduous trees slough off their colorful foliage, sound travels more easily, and i occasionally fall asleep to the bellow of a foghorn blowing along the river. Between the weather and the ever-shortening days, there's a distinct possibility we may not see a clear sun again until Spring. Eventually, the dreariness will wear on me, but at the moment, i find it oddly comforting. Granted, there's not much blooming in my garden right now, but i'm guessing if i grab the camera and take a closer look, something beautiful will reveal itself. Care to join me for a little stroll around the yard?
One of Nature's best tricks is to leave a beautiful seed pod where a beautiful bloom has been. The giant seed pods of the magnolia tree are a favorite …
On the other hand, this once beautiful hydrangea now looks like a tiny bouquet of melted crayons ...
Clematis ...
Borage ...
The reliably self-seeding fennel ...
A cage of next year's Queen Anne's Lace ...
I think this "cap" is actually the spot where a deer pulled a persimmon off the tree. There was quite a bit of fruit developing, but now there are many snapped limbs and not a persimmon in sight ...
Rose hips are like little seed pods covered in delicious fruit ...
This cluster has tiny critters on it, sucking out the precious life juices ...
I recently mentioned in another diary that hubby and i planted a holly bush several years ago to mark the spot where our beloved cat, Holiday (a.k.a. Holly), is buried. Every time i pass this bush (which is often because it's in the apiary), i'm reminded of her ...
Believe it or not, these obtrusive dirt mounds were created by moles ...
Back when i still harbored a "man versus nature" philosophy, i was horrified that rat-like varmints were burrowing elaborate tunnels underneath my soil. I was convinced i had to somehow drive them off. At first, i tried little fire-cracker sticks that worked about as well as you'd expect them to - i'm pretty sure the moles just made a wish and blew them out, thinking a slice of birthday cake would be the next thing to slide down the chute. I then tried metal traps, but there were always more moles than i could possibly catch (they don't call it "whack a mole" for nothing). So now i just thank the varmints for aerating my soil, flatten the unsightly mounds with a metal rake, and call it done. We live and learn ...
This may look like an empty garden bed, but i actually planted nearly 500 bulbs in that freshly weeded dirt, hoping for a vibrant burst of color in the Spring …
I've never planted Spring-blooming bulbs before, and i really hope this bed is successful. I still need to cover it in a fresh layer of mulch, but the window on getting that little project done is rapidly closing. Ah, well ... there's always next year.
Meanwhile, mushrooms! Although i dare not eat them, i love the way these clusters look, thriving under the Japanese maple (and get your minds out of the gutter - i doubt Stormy reads this blog) ...
I think these succulents are called stone roses, and i favor them because they're maintenance free, spread easily, last forever, and the deer don't bother them a bit (unlike most roses) ...
Eventually, i'd love to be able to enjoy colorful blooms long into the winter months. But for now, the color in my garden is really all about the leaves this time of year. Some of them are just spectacular ...
What's going on in your gardens?
PS: Here's our upcoming Saturday Morning Garden Blog hosting schedule. As always, if anyone would like to write a diary, drop a note in the comment section (or send one of us a private message). We need more regular writers if we want to keep this series going, and new contributors are always welcome.
December 8th (Vol. 14.49) — DownHeah Mississippi
December 15th (Vol. 14.50) — nkgodfrey
December 22nd (Vol. 14.51) —
December 29th (Vol. 14.52) — Mimer
January 5th (Vol. 15.01) —
January 12th (Vol. 15.02) —
January 19th (Vol. 15.03) —
January 26th (Vol. 15.04) —