Around the Garden — October 17, 2020

I have been so negligent on monthly gardening updates… blame it on a virus, a vacation to New England, a difficult knee, … or just laziness~!

Here we are a month into the Fall season! The Gingko tree is still green and we are waiting impatiently for a morning of golden leaves— not yet!

Dark green against bright blue… no gold yet!

But we do have gold of a different sort.. MUMS! A dozen yellow mums line our sidewalk. Three are new as nine survived our mild 2019-20 winter. Remember to mulch them heavily after the first heavy frost and dieback. Maybe next spring I will see a dozen mums peek out of the mulch!

And lavender isn’t far behind!

Yellow mums never fail as a Fall favorite!

A pleasant surprise this Fall is the exploding of our pink and purple azaleas. Not as prolific as early Spring but just as eye-catching!

The dark pink streaks in an otherwise light pink blossom add to the natural beauty of the azalea.

Pink tower over Gold Hosta.

A native bee searches for nectar despite the 40 degree temperatures.

Can’t resist the striped azaleas!

The Flame Azalea promises to unfold in orange spender in a few months!

Coleus will be gone with the first frost but flaunt daringly in the Fall sunshine.

Roses have been blooming since April and the red Knockouts which line the back of the house in full sun are still blooming although not as much as earlier in the year. They are now five foot tall and will be pruned back to two feet in February to start a bright and promising 2021.

These were late Fall “rescues” from a local box store and are in their third Fall season… many more to come!

A Rose of a different color!

Simple white…simple beauty!

What is the Hart Gardens without a few Elephant Ears?

From behind, the scale is enormous!

I have dozens of small “miscellaneous” flowers in bloom…. some majestic… some simple… all beautiful!

Petunia like… but not a petunia!

Exciting in detail… small in stature–the Goat Lily!

The Coreopsis … a summer leftover!

The Peacock Lily blooms all summer!

The St John’s Wort is still my favorite!

In another week or so, I need to cut down all the Canna Lilies.

Summer Phlox linger on!

Indian Blanket goes by many names and many colors!

A red hornet looks for prey among the Japanese Maple leaves.

Speaking of predators… A Mantis awaits an unsuspecting morsel on this otherwise beautiful morning!

I have to figure out how to replicate this great Butterfly Bush!

Pieris buds await an early Spring bloom… I await the crimson new leaves in March.

Baby chicks await transplanting.

Wow! And I thought Fall was supposed to be all brown and wrinkled! Lots of activity and lots of upcoming work to prepare for winter and build for spring. Thank you for visiting with me today and I look forward not only to the golden leaves of the Gingko but the golden flowers of Daffodils just a few months away!