First Frost

Well, it wasn't a typical first frost with a sugary coating on the grass in the morning.  It snowed.  Actually it rained here all yesterday and it snowed slushy heavy snow just a few miles away.

This morning everything was coated in ice.  The deck was very slippery and when I went to check the rain gauge outside, it had frozen solid, with 3/4 of an inch of solid ice in the tube, and I broke the plastic connection trying to empty it out.

back in August

The coleus at the back of the Birch Garden was a slimy black mess, so I took it all out today.  I wanted to do more outside, but the ground was so COLD and it wasn't all that pleasant out despite nice sunshine.

Some Yellow, Some Green, A Little Wine Red

Cloudy, a little rain, some brief sun.  In the 50s.  Rain expected tomorrow.

Another update on fall color: the river birches have turned a lovely yellow, except for the one that is at the front of the berm.  It's still totally green.  

One yellow, one green!  Just a few feet apart.

I think it is due to moisture levels.  The one on the right, which grew so awesomely from an Arborday twig, is at the edge of the berm in a low spot where water puddles.  It has the most rapid growth and lushest form, and I think it colors later because of the extra moisture.  Just guessing.

River Birch in Meadow's Edge

The yellowroot this year is a subtle wine red.  Not as bronzy or copper colored as in previous years.

Wine red in the sun

A softer muted color in shade

Bright and Windy

Bright and windy today.  Cool, in the 50s.

The black gum is coloring, but it's not bright red yet!

Same thing for the stewartia and the dogwood and the sourwood --- all are getting dark, brownish almost, and will likely get deep red next week.

But we are expecting rain, even some light snow in the next days, and I fear the trees will drop leaves before any real color develops.  And if they do color up, it will be too cloudy and dark to take good pictures!  At least today was blue sky and beautiful.

The witch hazels have not shown any color change at all.  Last year the hamamelis vernalis was turning deep gold at this time.

I need to do something about the blueberries.  They look awful each year and I finally have to face the fact they are not doing well under the overhanging amsonias.  Too shaded, too wet from overhead.  Fall color never develops (the new little blueberry planted in the Birch Garden is a nice red color now.)

These blueberries always look awful

Next spring I will dig up the four Northblues and put them in the strip that borders the new gravel garden, where they should have more space and more sun.

Fall Color Update as of 10/22

Tom's birthday.  He's 31 today!!

Cold today, in the high 50s and cloudy, but nice enough for working in the yard.

Some colors are out, many trees have dropped completely, but most in the yard want to turn and just haven't yet.  No color yet:

The sourwood and the dogwood are both darkening but not red.  In past years in early to mid October they were brilliant --- this year on the 22nd there is no color at all.

look at this from October 14 2009.  Not this year!

The older black gums have also darkened and today had a few bright leaves at the edges, but no red color.

The yellowroot is darkening, turning a little bronzy, but it is still subtle.  Amsonias are now a little golden, they will get much yellower.

No color at all on the witch hazels, they are completely green.  The new rhus aromatic sumacs are getting some yellowy orange color, but not the bright red I expected.

The doublefile viburnum has been half green and half red for a week or more now.  Odd.

The back hill maples are showing nice color.

maples on the hill, the doublefile viburnum in front

volunteer aok in the meadow

one of the sassafras trees on the back hill

The long blooming Lady in Red salvias are giving some of the best red color even now.

And Immortality iris looks like crystalline sugar.

Soaking Wet

Very rainy day, with heavy downpours most of the day.

The sourwood still has not turned color at all!  And the black gums are not yet colored.  Last year at this time they were bright red!

Yesterday I removed the sod around the bluestone steps that lead to the new gravel garden, and transplanted some of the thymus serpyllum there.  It will soften all the edges,the stepping stones as well as the edges of the gravel.

A view from yesterday:

Autumn Crocuses

Breezy and sunny and cool, in the 60s.

I ripped out some more of the daylilies that were in the back of Meadow's Edge.  These were wrapped right around the birch tree's roots, and almost impossible to dig out.  The garden is fuller now, and there really is no room for the big strappy daylilies there.

I moved as many of the drumstick alliums as I could from the top of the driveway to a spot along the edge of the new gravel garden.  We'll see if they survive.

And I moved the thimbleweed anemone from next to the bird bath into Meadow's Edge.  It was too big for the patio wall by the birdbath.

Autumn crocuses are up, tiny white ones.  There were too many hidden under the amsonia, so I moved several into the patch of kinnikinnik.  I love the clear white crocuses coming up through the thick, glossy green groundcover.

The itea is getting its deep red color on.

The spicebush on the back of the spruce berm colored up beautifully.  It is a clear, striking yellow.  But the rain knocked off most of the leaves before I could really enjoy it.

The Sheffield Pink mums are full and lush and covered with tiny bees.  I like the soft apricot color with the blue tint of the Dusty Miller --- try to do this again next year.

New Gravel Garden

We got almost 3 inches of rain over the past two days!  The transplanted hydrangeas that were so droopy and fried looking are positively lush and dark green now.  Wow.

The new gravel garden looks great.  Here is what the space looked like before:

And here is what it looks like now:

No Pictures Yet

The Manns came earlier this week and installed the gravel garden along the west walk, finishing in the evening.  It has been cloudy and rainy since then, so I have no pictures yet.

But I absolutley love it.  The look, the shape, the way it blends with the borders.  The Sheffield Pink mums are blooming and they look so soft and natural flanking the small boulders. 

I put two Adirondack chairs in the gravel, and moved the old tree stump from Meadow's Edge (where it was getting overtaken by plants) next to a chair.  The strawberry jars with nasturtiums and some Dusty Miller in another pot . . .  so nice.

For spillers along the edge of the far border, I transplanted some of the Mara Des Bois strawberries.  They were being overshaded by the enlarging amsonia that towered over them in Northern Exposure.

Went Looking For Fall

Another warm day, in the 80s and sunny.  

We drove up to the Albany area looking for fall color, and saw some, but nothing really dramatic.  We stopped at the Hancock Shaker Village near Pittsfield, and that was a nice tour.

Back here at home the only real color so far is the new black gum out in the meadow (the other established black gums have not turned any color yet).

The sumacs on the hill are coloring.

And the new pagoda dogwood, which looks for all the world like Raggedy Ann.

Summery Day

A record breaker yesterday, in the 80s a fine summery day.

I went to Elaine's for lunch and then we toured Lee May's unusual garden in East Haddam.  He's a real treat, friendly and eager to talk about his garden.  The space itself is odd, but intriguing.

Elaine's yard is looking good.  I particularly like this shot with the dense dark arborvitae contrasting with the fall leaves in the distance.

Her shed in the distance --- we ate peaches from a tree behind the shed and had a lovely day on her deck.