Thanks, Dad

Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, my Dad brings me my first Christmas decoration of the season:

Thanks, Dad!

Fall Foliage

November is the month of LEAVES! And I finally have them. I had originally designated last weekend for leaf clean-up, but most hadn't fallen yet. Guess what's now on my agenda for tomorrow?

Pam at Digging hosts Foliage Follow-up on the day following Bloom Day. Since my Bloom Day post was two days late, so is my foliage post. It's my first, too. What a way to start....

And since I'm so late, I can't show off what I'd intended: my glorious maple in the front yard. Well, I can still show it off, you'll just have to look on the ground to see the pretty leaves. Monday it was beautiful. Then we got a huge storm Tuesday night. So now I'm left with:


Work for the weekend! There are actually a lot fewer leaves, since I lost about 1/3 of the tree in the August storm.

In the back, the weeping maple is in full color, with all its leaves. You can see it was damaged in the same summer storm. This is the first year the area under the tree has been visible. That area was covered in ivy until last weekend. Now I'll need something new to plant there....


In the side yard, the flowering pear is providing another dose of red:


In a yard full of red, the balloon flower plants on the other side are making a shocking display of yellow:


Stay tuned for a future post (if I get around to it) on what happens to all these leaves.

Mid-November Blooms

Once again, I've missed Bloom Day. I forgot to take pictures on Sunday (the 14th), then was working until after dark (silly time change!) on Monday. Rain yesterday, so I finally got the photos today.

That means I don't get to show off my pretty nasturtium that bloomed over the weekend. Trust me, it was a nice summer surprise in mid-Autumn.

As for the rest, it's almost a repeat of October. Let's see, what did I show off last month?

Mums: my mother's white mums are done now, with just one bright flower hanging on. The Pink mums in the garage garden are still going strong, though:


Gaillardia: last month I showed off the burgundy ones in the garage garden. Those are still blooming, along with some yellow ones in the terrace garden:


Summer phlox: Yes, surprisingly, there are still some flowers hanging on. Two more repeat-bloomers are lavender in the front and rosemary on the side. What mixed-up blooms I've had this fall!




Dahlia: This thing shines in the fall. I really wish I had more than one. I'm just so bad at overwintering them. I had five in storage over winter. Two were still viable in spring, one of those made a tasty feast for some critter, and this yellow one has done all the work:


Goldenrod: nearing the end of its bloom period, but still a pretty yellow in the back corner.

Rudbeckia: I've been showing off the ones in the upper garden, and they are still going strong. But this months surprise is the one along the front walk. These called it quits a few months ago, but one enjoyed the cooler weather enough to give me one more flower:


Edibles: The blackberries are still coming, a few at a time. A special treat for when I take a break from fall clean-up:



Sedum: are just a bunch of seed-heads now, but they are almost as pretty dried as in flower. Now the Nandina berries are adding color to that side of the yard:


I have a love-hate relationship with Nandina berries. I love the bright color that persists all winter. They look especially great with a dusting of snow. But in early spring I have to go cut them all down, otherwise I'll have hundreds (thousands? it seems) of Nandina babies by summer. I always miss some berries, and some fall before I cut them down, so I still usually have several dozen babies to pull. I keep looking to replace these shrubs with something less vigorously reproductive, but I haven't found winter color to compare with what I have. Suggestions are always welcome.

Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see who else has shown off their blooms this month.

Garlic Surprise

Uh-oh. I planted my garlic a few weeks ago, and it's already sprouted. And about 5 inches high.



Is this going to be a problem?