It’s prime time for Fall colors in the garden this weekend. Fire engine reds, smoky apricot oranges, and flashy yellow golds abound throughout the garden. The gloomy gray skies brightened enough for me to take photos of the spectacle. Come, take a look!
The violent hail storm in June left the garden in tatters and many of my beloved hydrangeas beheaded. The damage was heartbreaking, and the cleanup painful as I removed tens of dangling, half-mature blooms and branches to the compost bin.
Right after the cleanup was complete, Joe the Gnome arrived from California in the company of my charming nephews Cole and Alan.
Joe quickly found a sheltered perch on a small ledge on one of the biggest Ponderosa Pine trees in the center of the back garden. It’s a great lookout, high above the garden hoses which could decapitate him, and prominent enough to see Joe from the kitchen and living room.
Since Joe’s arrival, things have been looking up in the garden. The remaining hydrangeas have “pulled themselves together” and are poised to come into full bloom in the next week or two:
A few early bloomers are cheering me up tremendously:
Hydrangea macrophylla “Endless Summer”
Hydrangea serrata “Preziosa”
Hydrangea paniculata “Quickfire”
No more hail storms, please!
The garden is awakening at great speed. Almost every day now, something “new” re-emerges or leafs out, adding fresh greens and pinks to a soggy gray landscape.
Today, I spent some time raking stray pine needles, pulling the odd weed, and collecting twigs and branches that dropped from the tree canopy over the Winter. It was wonderful to be outside and not get rained on, even if the temperature was shy of fifty.
Here’s what I saw:
Narcissus
Camellia japonica — wish I knew which variety
Another unknown variety of Camellia
Acer palmatum “Orido Nishiki”
Acer palmatum “Oregon Sunset”
By next weekend, the white Bleeding Heart I planted last year will probably be blooming. Looking forward to that!
It’s officially Spring today and some much needed color is popping up between the mounds of decaying oak leaves and pine needles.
A half dozen camellia shrubs, bought 6-7 years ago in unlabelled 4″ pots, are braving the rain and putting on a lovely show. Take a look:
Not to be outdone by the camellias, a pink flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) is adding a touch of elegance to a dark corner at the end of the garden.
This native shrub is a real keeper. It’s drought tolerant, blooms profusely, and does not complain in any way about it’s less that ideal spot (heavy clay soil, wet feet in Winter, and considerable shade in Summer).
And then there are other early Spring blooming shrubs and bulbs which are brightening up other spots in the garden.
Pieris japonica “White Pearl”
Crocus vernus
Viburnum “Spring Bouquet”
This burst of color is finally drawing me into the garden. It’s been an unusually wet Winter here in the Pacific Northwest and although there are more rainy days ahead, the longer days are finally forcing me out of hibernation.
Welcome Spring!
