And to every season, turn, turn

My front yard is beginning to make the inevitable transition to fall.  I never plant much for fall blooming and I tend to forget about it until it is too late.  I am pleased, however, with what is still blooming.  There is nothing out there that has yet to bloom, so this is it until next spring.

From this angle, lots of magenta and coral colors are apparent.  I love the variety of textures that weave together.  Even though I lost the Japanese Stewartia, the barrel is still there, adding interest until next spring when the new one arrives.  I love the rocks and how they add contrast to the plants.

  This angle is also the front of the house, just from the opposite side.  The Japanese Maple at the back and the hydrangea frame that window so nicely.  Again, the rocks, now visible in middle of the yard, give that structure and elevation that I appreciate so much.  I often just sit on these rocks and watch the world go by.

  I love the orange of this Mountain Ash tree.  The caterpillars really made short work of some of the leaves.  I was concerned they would eat all of the leaves because they work so fast, but the damage they caused was only significant on a few branches, not the whole tree.  The fruit seems ripe to me, so I am hoping the Cedar Waxwings will come and eat the berries.  The robins ate them last year.  I haven't seen either species so far. 

  This is at least the second bloom for the Wisteria.  The first one was very dramatic because there were no leaves.  I also don't think there are as many blooms the second time around, but they seem to last longer.  I will wait until the blooms fade before I prune it back.  I will have to return to that web page where I got the instructions for winter pruning to see if there is a second pruning suggested or if I just wait until February.  I did hear that it is time to prune my fruit trees which surprised me.  I thought that was done mid winter as well.

  These two plants are not so lovely now, but I am leaving them for the birds.  I do have a number of feeders out, but I am hoping to attract some birds that might not like coming to the feeders.  It is hard to have such messy flowers in the front of the yard and I did not think of this potential problem when I planted them there.  I think once I have these same plants growing elsewhere, like in the backyard, I will feel better about pruning them.  I do love them while the blooms are pretty.

 I wanted to show the difference between these two Highbush Cranberry plants.  The one in the barrel gets much more sun than the other by the porch.  They one by the porch gets more water more regularly and the ground is generally moister there.  Though they are the same height essentially, their leaves look very different to me.  There are some black spots on the porch variety that the barrel plant does not have.  Also, the barrel plant has larger, more vibrant leaves with sharper edges.  Both plants should have brilliant fall color, though neither one produced berries this year.

  I love the messy wildflower look of this part of the garden.  The lone Canna that finally made an appearance is really splendid.  I hope it comes back next year.  Just to the left of the Canna is the Aronia berry plant.  It is doing well, though I plan to move it to the back yard this fall along with the Gogi berry bush.  I love the nasty smelling Pineapple Sage with its tiny hot pink flowers.  The hummingbirds don't seem to be on them as much as they were, but the color remains vibrant.  Also, at the bast of the Canna are a couple of the African Daisies.  What a great buy those flowers proved to be.  They have bloomed consistently since they were planted in April I think it was.  The pale purple flowers in the background are from a plant I got on clearance at that same time.  It has also been a constant bloomer, though I must admit I don't love it like I do the African Daisy.

The Monk's Hood has finally bloomed!  I love it.  It looks a bit like Foxglove I think.  I understand it is poisonous, so it will stay in the front yard.  It brings all the various purple plants together.

  This is the Black and Blue Salvia.  It is at the base of my bird feeder and it looks great there I think.  I see it whenever I come out of the house.  Of course, the suet melted on it last month when the temperature got to be just under 100 degrees, but other than that, it looks great and it hides the spilled seed.

  On the trellis is Clematis that never bloomed.  I planted a Honeysuckle in the backyard and it didn't bloom this year either.  The lavender flowers are some kind of carnation I think, though I am not sure.  The flowers have been blooming a long time.  I like all the spots of purple, violet and lavender around the landscape.

  The photo doesn't show it all that well, but these are the yellow crocrosmia I planted this spring.  I had moved them from beside the porch.  They bloomed well in this rather dry location, though as you can see, they are not near as tall as their red cousins which are finished blooming now.  This area is really weedy and dry, so I think it will require some more compost and generally attention.  It is not a part of the yard that I see, so I have to remember to take care of it.  I don't mind the fullness of the plantings here, but I need to keep the weeds in check.  There is a patch of dead ones that need to get pulled as well.  I like that spiky plant in the lower right corner.  It dies back when we have a really cold winter.  I always think it is gone for good, but then it returns, like a phoenix from the flame.

 

 

Now I am planning on where to move things that maybe didn't work as well as I wanted them to.  I still can't move things yet, maybe not until next month.  It is a slowly evolving canvas.  The back yard has room for some things, though a great deal of work must be done before I can move anything.  I have a new puppy, so I must be aware of what goes back there so I don't make her sick.  I have some plants that are hidden that I want to move to the open, some that can be used as a backdrop for other plants.  I learn so much and am given so much opportunity to go ahead and make mistakes.  And if I don't get it all done in time, there is always next year.  I appreciate that level of flexibility.