Sunday, September 16, 2012

Hopefully This Works

I've been having trouble with Blogger this week.  First photos wouldn't load - then I was told I was out of space - yes again.  But, their rules have changed, basically they've put up a new Speed Limit sign, and I desperately want to play Blogger and so have sent them my credit card number.  As my husband explained to me - $2.49/month is not a lot of money for the amount of pleasure I get.

In the garden, the hot and crusty summer has had a huge influence over the fall blossoms.  Things are shorter, smaller, and altogether less colourful.  I've looked at years past and there was an abundance of plants that are photo-worthy - this year not so much.

I'm a little unsure if this is going to work and I'll be able to load these photos (attempt #8) so, I've done a drastic cull just so you can get an idea of what things look like and what's going on.

The big noise at the moment is the Heptacodium.  It is full of flowers.  The bees are going mad.  The butterflies are waiting their turn - showing up in the afternoon when the pollinator traffic is more reasonable.  My only beef with this little tree is that it wasn't supposed to be so tall.  I have the feeling that all the good action is going on well above my head.


Just barely caught this Mourning Cloak having a meal.


The rain and cooler weather has awoken some of the annuals.  I'd gotten a flat of these Dahlia Dahlinova Hypnotica Cotton Candy from Loblaw at the beginning of the season to trial.  They did well throughout the spring, then completely pooped out over the summer.  Even though I kept them watered, I was sure they were going to end up on the compost pile before the end of summer.  Well, the moment the rain came, the buds came back and so did the leaves.  So glad I didn't give up on them.  They're so pretty.

Below is a shot of my favourite oil-slick plant Perilla.  I had grown it to eat (it's called Shiso) - just vile.  But, it has to be one of the loveliest volunteers in the garden.  No matter where it decides to grow, it always plays well with others - the combinations are divine.

Autumn is well and truly here when you see these little fall treasures - these were found at the Royal Botanical Gardens last week.



I had just a short amount of time to spend at the RBG and decided to go to the Rock Garden.  I hadn't been back since visiting for the spring bulb display.  Some very different combinations.  They seem to be relying on the strength of leaf colour rather than flowers in their beds.




I never would have thought about planting these ornamental peppers so closely for a display.  Too much do you think?

I'm not a huge fan of Dichondra, (the silver/blue leaf below) but like the way it's feathered out at the edge of the bed.  In this particular case, I must admit, I'd like to see some more flowers.


The late Hosta have been just glorious.


Now for those of us in colder climates with Muhly Grass envy - maybe this is something we could try....It's called Melinis 'Savannah' or Ruby Grass.


To get to the rock garden you have to go under the roadway beside the railway tracks - am always fascinated to see these crazy bees with their hive just glued to the underside of the roadway.


A couple shots from my morning walks - as you can see - no colour yet, but the sky is a perfect fall blue, just ready to be a foil to those bright reds and golds.


And from one of the gardens down by the lake (one of those homes your husband would buy for you if he robbed a bank) a little bit of grass and dancing flowers - another little tick in the box of autumn.





5 comments:

Victoria Williams said...

Love that Heptacodium tree. And the dahlias; definitely worth the wait. Love the - artichokes? peppers and ???. Nice. Fall is on its way.

Barbarapc said...

peppers and big beefy Begonias of all things. Much colder yesterday and today - change from 30 to 6C. Almost felt I needed gloves. I do hope it warms a bit for the butterflies. Definitely time to get some bulbs into the ground.
B

Jennifer said...

Hi Barbara, I had all manner of trouble with Blogger in the last couple of weeks. As you know, I like to change my header every two seconds. I also have many customizations. All of a sudden the Advance edits wouldn't work. Did I do something wrong to make it stop working? I tried everything to fix it. The problem is that when you run into a problem, there is really little help to be found. Then as suddenly as the problem appeared, it went away. Very frustrating to say the least!!
A tree that blooms in late summer/fall? Wow, sign me up! I have a spot that I could squeeze in a small tree. Where did you get yours? Love the fall crocus. I have a couple and would like more. That dahlia was worth the wait. Very pretty!
Last year I visited the RBG so often that I decided to get a membership this year and save some money. Well, wouldn't you know it! I haven't had a second to get back there beyond the two visits in spring. Instead of saving money, I've wasted it. Your pictures make me think that a fall visit might be a great idea. Now, when to squeeze that visit in....
Have a great week! Hope you get your Blogger issues sorted out.

Barbarapc said...

Sooo frustrating isn't it! Things pretty good until I upgraded my OS Lion, major slowdown - but in all fairness, who know where the problems come from?

Got the Heptacodium at the RBG sale several years ago when Chris Graham was there. They had them in limited numbers. Sheridan are good about requests and I bet Humber would definitely have them.

So sorry you haven't been able to take advantage of your membership - Kevin and I get there at least for an hour every 2-3 weeks or so. It's our go-to spot on Sunday. By the way, they've closed Laking again.....grrr. Only find out when you're in the lot. Oh well.
B.

Northern Shade said...

I like the metallic purple sheen of the Periila, very nice leaves. The colchicums look pretty in the dappled light under the tree.

Which type of Hosta is that with those white flowers so late in the season?