This may well be the last rose of summer... uh, I mean autumn. This huge cold front just hit big time... 75 degrees yesterday, and tomorrow 45 degrees with lows of 26 degrees. I've pretty well finished with fall planting so from my point of view, I guess it's ok. We've gotten the rain that was so badly needed... I think somewhere around five inches altogether here at Oak Lawn.
The little grandsons are coming in a week, so I promised to leave the maple leaves on the lawn and patio for purposes of frolicking, etc! This is what it looked like yesterday...
I came home today from gathering a few rocks for the new wall I'm starting and there was barely a leaf! They aren't anywhere to be found... not even in the neighbor's yard... I suspect they could be ten miles away by now with the fierce wind we've been experiencing... sorry about that boys.
As I mentioned last post, I've been visiting some gardens this week and will share a few pictures... these are from Frog Pond's woodland garden...
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| This is the fall color of the deciduous Royal azalea (Azalea Schlippenbachii)... a truly amazing plant in spring bloom |
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| If one Schlippenbachii is good... two are better yet! |
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| I love the layered effect of the Bottlebrush Buckeyes pictured above and below |
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| Hydrangea petiolaris climbs an old oak tree... what a great place to relax on an autumn day! |
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| Clematis Betty Corning on an arch frames late blooming monkshoods while Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' provides backup for the grouping |
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| Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' not yet to its full color potential |
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| A favorite of mine are the sugar maples |
Next are photos from gardens Frog Pond and I visited this past week...
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| A wonderful ginko in full color... I particularly enjoyed seeing this as all four of the ginkos at Oak Lawn dropped their foliage this year before coloring... probably due to a freeze we had a couple weeks ago |
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| Can you imagine living next to nature consevancy and enjoying this view on a daily basis... wow! |
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| I just love these old buildings |
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| A small part of huge collection consisting of confers and european beeches, for the most part |
I added four new conifers to the gardens this week... Picea pungens 'Deitz Prostrate' was pictured in my last post, the others are pictured below...
This is Picea abies 'Hillside Upright'... I am drawn to its narrow form... reminds me of some of the artificial garlands I use at Christmas... I suspect that it will eventually fill out somewhat as it is heavy with new growth buds. Chances are that it will grow eventually to twenty feet with up to an eight foot width, looking much as it does now... only bigger.
'Skylands' can grow from ten to 35 feet in height with a width from four to twelve feet. Frog Pond owns the one pictured below... while not in a lot of sun, it does have some lovely yellow in the foliage...
I also added a small Picea pungens 'Walnut Glen'. I have been enthralled with the foliage color on these for years, but never ran across one for sale until this week. First I'll show my little one, and then I'll share two photos of one we visited this week.
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| My new 'baby' |
These soft creamy 'yellows' with the soft blue are entrancing!
A most exciting discovery this week was a plant of the new Japanese maple called 'Northwind'. Iseli nursery has been trialing these and says they are hardy to -30 degrees. The one pictured in the two photos below convinced me that 'Northwind' is worth looking for... not only is the fall color spectacular, but I'm told there is a month's worth of spring color as well... I believe in the reds which turn to a green for the summer. Info is hard to come by on the internet regarding this plant and similar crosses being experimented with... the important factor for hardiness involves the Acer pseudosieboldianum (korean maple) side of the mix. The japanese maple side brings the leaf and branch beauty to the crosses. Northwind is from a 1998 cross and if I can afford one... it's a definite on my list for next spring. Ultimate size is said to be 15-20 feet wide and tall.
One of today's projects was planting 30+ clumps of 'Elijah Blue' fescue amongst three different cultivars of Picea pungens... 'Hoopsii' to the right, 'Fat Albert' to the left, and 'Baby Blue Eyes' to the rear...
In closing I'd like to share my favorite Fagus sylvatica cultivar, that being 'Asplenifolia'. I have several cultivars of the european beeches, but this one really stands out in the crowd... especially when in its autumn color which is taking place now. In fact, I like it so well that I added a second tree to the rockery to provide shade in the future.
As I sit here listening to the howling north wind tonight, I have to say regarding this season's gardens, despite the difficulties encountered with cold, heat, and drought over the course of the past seven months... 'it was a very good year'!
Take care, Larry
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