Sunday, November 27, 2016

Sunday, November 27, 2016



Perhaps this is the last gasp of summer/fall? 
Clicking on photos enlarges them.

I spotted these late blooming Colchicums 
struggling to flower in the east garden.

Good old reliable snapdragons, possibly the favorite gate-way flower to lots of kids. This plant has survived two winters so far and has seeded itself also. That puts it into a very select group of annuals I like. My plants have to be able to survive rambunctious Icelandic Sheepdogs, cruel winter winds coming in off Lake Huron, really cold winters, and difficult soil conditions. They have to be tough.

This viola fits that category. I planted a few 
when I first moved here 
and several seeded thenselves 
plus a few always survive the winter. 
They are small but much appreciated in the 
early spring and the late fall.

I know it's hard to see the flowers on this 'wild' Penstemon. 
It does well much of the summer, and like many 
wild species plants also is very hardy.

Although tiny, this tick-seed (Helenium) is still doing fine.

I'm not good on identifying ferns. Next year 
I'll try to get my act together. Regardless,
I do love them.

The new kinds of Heuchera are amazing. 
They are perfect for the semi-shady garden.

Italian Jack in the Pulpits have very attractive leaves which
start to reappear in the fall after being dormant much of the summer.

Mosses thrive when the less hardy plants retreat underground.
Their rich green leaf scales encourage optimism, don't they. 

Molds and fungi recycle nutrients for re-use and have done 
so for millions and millions of years. Neat, eh? 





The color didn't photo well. Reminds me of Jon's Dark Star


Many of the grasses disappear in the fall revealing 
how prolific this almost chartreuse sedum was last summer.

Canada Geese loitering by my islands.


Pre-Thanksgiving

We're having a late fall this year - global warming? Bien sur! The world is becoming a different place now. And yet, the same. Like ants, we are unable to see or appreciate the big picture.













Saturday, November 12, 2016

Saturday, November 12, 2016

It's comforting to know that Canada is right across Lake Huron.









Autumn in Michigan

Three kinds of garlic cloves (Italian red, Polish soft-neck and Siberian) are planted finally and the dahlias are dug and packaged for winter storage in the garage. Last night the tomatoes got zapped by the cold so they are also cleaned up for winter. I love Juneberry trees in the spring, they grow in clumps and the white flowers are gorgeous. Individual 'trees' in the clump don't live long but new sprouts grow from the roots. Birchbark trees here have the same strategy. New saplings grow from the base and old ones die back. If you look at a clump carefully you can tell that some of them are quite old even though the individual trunks never get very large.







Thursday, November 3, 2016

For Carol - Fall Color

Carol lives is from Michigan but moved south to TN to be closer to her parents a few years ago. She says she misses Michigan's fall colors but not our winters. I honestly don't mind them. They possibly may be a few weeks too long; having seasons though is a great trade off in my opinion.
N.B. the blue trunks of the wild cherry trees, a medium sized green hosta in perfect fall yellow, the dahlias still alive after two light frosts, an unknown helianthus (probably). Clicking on photos enlarges them.

For Carol: -