Photo of the Day - Sweet Potato Vine Tuber

Today we pulled out all the flowers from the church garden. Over three yards (compacted) of live plant material were removed for composting. Many flowers were still blooming beautifully, but that is the sad part of fall. The six mandevillas were saved for next year, for over-wintering near a sunny window in a lower level classroom. Harriet and I will take turns watering weekly. I fertilized the pots this year until a few weeks ago, and I have never seen such a large tuber from a sweet potato vine--this one had no room to grow in the pot and was on top of the soil under all the foliage. Some people have eaten them. This one is probably too big and dry and tough. And I am not that hungry.

Maple Tree Today - A Tree of Many Colors

I took these photos at our student rental house today. One does not need to go on a color tour to New Hampshire to find gorgeous fall trees. This photo was taken on Hampshire Street. The tree is trending fall on its sunny side. Notice the green leaves showing through. I picked a couple of dozen leaves and placed them in a phonebook.

What I Saw in the Garden Today

If there is one symbol of flowering fall in the northern zones, it is the "MUM." The many cultivars of chrysanthemums begin to bloom in August and extend past the first light frosts, hopefully into November. Along with pumpkins and cornstalks they are the cliched standard for fall decor. This white mum was photographed today at Aunt V's place. My shady yard produces only a few scraggly blooms.







Another lovely fall bloomer is the Japanese anemone, pictured here in the afternoon sunlight under a dawn redwood tree.

Japanese Anemone - probably 'Honorine Jobert'

I always claim to know where every bulb is buried in my aunt's yard. This year some autumn "crocus" popped up where I had planted the corms and forgotten them. Do you ever wonder how the squirrels remember where they bury all their nuts? I heard a presentation from a naturalist/biology teacher this week at a gardening seminar. He suggested they need only remember 10% of their burials to survive the winter. Only a naturalist would count the number of seeds a squirrel can stuff into its cheeks--he once counted a startled squirrel's spit-out stash of 42 maple seeds (with helicopters removed)! They are known to bury more than 5,000 seeds in their winter caches. It's no wonder my lawn is so hard to maintain, with all those pesky little hoarders livin' in my big trees and buryin' all those treasures below.

Colchicum autumnale are in the lily family - spring crocus are in the iris family.

Colorful eggplant

Mum buds with perovskia

An Apple a Day - Photo of the Day

Picked a peck of apples

Photo of the Day - A Rose for Rose

Went to Opening Night of the Symphony--Took home a lovely red rose!

Photo of the Day - "Bugbane"

The plant of many names blooming today--formerly known as cimicifuga

Photo of the Day - Hydrangea Bloom

Garden Club - August

Tonight we toured a nearby commercial water garden landscape place. I am only able to recognize a few of the water plants, like the lettuce, the hyacinth, and the canna and know none of the cultivar names, but it was sure fun seeing some of the gorgeous lilies and also, the many colorful koi--including one large pregnant fish that looked like she was ready to launch at least a thousand eggs. The koi will eat the tasty little eggs, but the tiny eggs are captured on the roots of water plants and then moved to another tank to hatch. I could not get a good photo of the wide-bellied momma koi swimming at the bottom of a dark tank, but I have a few selected photos from our tour.

A night  blooming lily--the others close up for the night

A Walk in the Park

Yesterday I was in the vicinity of Millenium Park, a recent reclamation project that has been developed into the largest park of its kind in West Michigan, so I thought I'd check it out. It had rained earlier, but was brightening and warm. I was surprised to find only a few souls out enjoying the park. There were two hikers on the trails but I did not cross paths with them. I felt like I had the whole beautiful space to myself! How fortunate we are here in Michigan to have such a nice plot of reclaimed wetlands available, abundant with native plants and birds. I was reminded of my lack of knowledge about wildflowers. I did recognize some of the plantings in the area of the shelters and playground, like this perovskia, or Russian sage, which was attracting bees:

With the many grasses pluming and the vegetation summer-rain lush, it was a good time to visit, although I can imagine that it will be transformed in a few months as we fall into autumn.

Click on these photos to enlarge--and enjoy some of nature's finest:

Leaves trending fall--viburnum?

Glistening berries

Young dawn redwood

One more--I was impressed with the mowed  grass--look how thick and green it is--easily able to stand up to foot traffic:

Today in the Church Garden

The two large pots are lush

Over-wintered mandevilla are thriving

The heart-shaped garden is filling in.

Two cultivars of zinnias, marigolds, lantana, salvia

Casablanca Lily - Opening Day

Lilium 'casablanca'

Yesterday I noticed that my last oriental lily finally opened with one bloom. It has been over a month since the first asiatic lilies started the whole lilium show. The trumpets and longiflorums have ended their runs as well. This afternoon I took some photos. The Casablanca is a popular and fragrant lily that I'm sure will always be available. With all the hybridizing going on, some cultivars could eventually be supplanted by the new and improved, but it seems unlikely that Casablanca's desirablity on the horticultural stage will ever fade.

 I counted 12 buds (Frank claimed nearly two dozen blooms on one of his tall stalks a few years back) on my modest but expanding patch. Here is a bud caught in the opening act:

Photo of the Day - Hibiscus 'Summer Storm'

Hibiscus 'Summer Storm'

Garden Club - July - A Visit to a Community Garden

Blueberries developing

Several members of my garden club have mentioned the community garden that they are involved in. Last year I inquired and found out there is a lengthy waiting list for this local plot and that is as much as I knew about the garden. Last night, under threat of rain and thunder, our garden club scouted out the 100 or so 25' x 50' plots which are available for $52 per year, with free use of easily accessed city water. Nobody was out weeding or watering on this stormy evening as we carefully explored the gardens--we treated the gardens as we would want our own to be treated, walking on mulched pathways while still feeling a little like we were violating these private paradises--and not even thinking about picking a raspberry or a cherry tomato! I was very impressed with the gardens, which are only 2.6 miles from my house.

A scarecrow?

A few plots looked neglected and weedy, and others were being developed with raised beds and nice mulches in the walkways. Here is a photo of a neat garden:

I have not had a good yard for a vegetable garden since the early 80's. I was especially pleased with the variety of produce that was being grown here, including okra, brussel sprouts and a beautiful variegated zucchini:

Okra

Brussel Sprouts

Zucchini with variegated foliage

Many gardeners include some marigolds, or other flowers for cutting such as gladiola or cosmos. There were also massive sunflowers, large rambling plots of raspberries and a few plots for just perennials--including a daylily garden in full bloom.

Sunflower

Emerging daylily

The night ended with refreshments nearby at what I call my secret garden. We hurried, because the drizzly weather threatened a downpour. The snacks are always the same and always good--cheese and crackers, cut-up fruit, home baked goodies, nuts and drinks. This time the nuts and cheese were combined in a tasty cheese log. I could have indulged more but we dashed to our cars as the drizzle became droplets. The next day my rain gauge registered 2 1/2 inches. It seems it's often all or nothing, but being a plant-lover and the self-proclaimed Watering Queen of the World, I almost always welcome the rain.

Photo of the Day - Beauty and the Beach