Saturday 25 November 2017

A Garden Transitions



Doodle Disruptia.




          With plants transitioning from warm weather to cold,
          the garden has tons of colour.



          This week, I put on my spectacles to consider six plants
          in various stages of the process.










1.  Let's start with something still in bloom.  Before we moved here, this unknown mint spent years self seeding all over the place.  I like the way it & the corydalis soften the brickwork areas of the garden.  Here, both grow in the shade near the leaky the water tap.


Unknown mint creeping under the corydalis.


2.  The leaves of this spider fatsia are just starting to turn.  We got it earlier this year to fill a shady spot on the patio.  Although it didn't bloom, its foliage met all our expectations, as well as those of whatever has nibbled on it all summer.




3.  The honeysuckle, also on the patio, is getting a really nice yellow.  This fella gave us trouble during the rainy season because, situated between these 2 chairs, it didn't have enough ventilation.  I raised it on some bricks, then spread a layer of mould barrier grit on top.  There were few blossoms, but I was ecstatic that it returned to health.


Honeysuckle & Mizzy BunnyButt

As you can see from the mushrooms (& the moss on the cement), damp will be an ongoing problem with this little guy, so next year, it'll probably be either relocated or elevated more.


Mushroom in the honeysuckle.


4.  What's a garden without verbena bonariensis, eh?  It looks great on its own but plays well with short guys, tall guys, strong colours, pale colours . . . low maintenance and it lasts forever.  My kinda plant.


Verbena bonariensis in full bloom


Amazingly, these two photos were both taken this week, & on the same day.


And nearly done.


5.  Seedpods are to autumn as blooms are to . . . something.  Oh, summer.  A season that doesn't happen in the UK.  I don't know which crocosmia this is, as it's one of those guys I fell in love with in some long ago garden & have taken with me on my subsequent moves.  Here, it's thinking about laying down for winter on top of the purple sage - an old friend purloined from 2 houses previous to the crocosmia.  


Crocosmia seed heads.


6.  I'll end with new growth.  This sea holly created quite the stir when it showed up at our house earlier this year.  A single stalk ending in one nearly done bloom, it looked like a piece of art rather than something that grew in nature.  It died back soon after planting, but not longer after, voila!


Eryngium bourgatii Picos Amethyst.


And here, with Mizzy BunnyButt for scale.


Mizzy BB never looks impressed.


There's my Six on Saturday to last through the week.  Be sure to stop by The Propagator for his Six & links to many, many other wonderful half dozens.


Mr Big Nose Dog on his colourful walk.



9 comments:

  1. Sacrilege you may say but I dug up all my Verbena B. this year. It had disappeared from where I wanted it and appeared all over the place. It does that. But next year I'm planning a patch of Miscanthus nepalensis and good old VB interplanted with each other - just a patch of the pair of them. I think it'll work. Cats are never impressed if you give them names or nicknames that include "Bunny".

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    1. I think the VB/MN combo'll do nicely. As to Mizzy BB, yes, she's mentioned that very thing to me.

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  2. I think your Spider Fatsia might be the "mystery plant" I posted on my Six for today. I'm a big Verbena bonariensis fan, too. Yes, it self-seeds like mad, but what's the difference between weeding out Verbena bonariensis or chickweed? I've started some Patrinia scabiosifolia plants because I read that they're a good companion for Verbena bonariensis. We'll see if the Patrinia survives the winter.

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    1. I see on your Six, a more knowledgeable source has confirmed your fatsia ID. Whether it's a spider or not I'm too green at fatsias to say. A really lovely plant, though. What a great inheritance!

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  3. Ms.BB has mastered the art of the dragon glare. Love cats and their attitude

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  4. I <3 your black dog, Big Nose? Looks like mine!
    I am a fan of VB, but lost it last winter...which was brutal. Yours appears more pink than mine, which was lavender.

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    1. I wonder if the difference in colour is the phase. If you look at the background of the VB photo, you can see a more blue/purple colour of blossom. As to dogs, the black one is a labradoodle & referred to by her nom de plum, Doodle. Big Nose is in the bottomm photo & is a wheaten terrier cross.

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