Fall seeds and leaves

Well, fall is officially here today -- at least that's what the Autumn Equinox and colored leaves are telling us. I have left almost all of the dead flowers and foliage on the perennials to keep them hardy over winter, as they will trap more leaves and snow that way.

The squirrel has found the dried up sunflowers and made quick work of the seed heads.



I planted most of the first box of 135 bulbs from Botanus. Triumph Tulip "Negrita" (dark purple), Single Late Tulip "Florissa" (dark pink), and a bicolored purple/white "Skagit Valley" Tulip are the large bulbs of this fall. I also ordered/planted mini botanical tulips, crocuses, narcissus, and a few others. The show of bulbs in May/June is sure to be pretty next year!

September Garden Colors

My garden is still a work in progress and I have yet to fill in the perennial beds. However, several plants are blooming now whether through natural processes or fortunate accidents creating out-of-season flowers.

(Right) Blue flowers of Gentiana dahurica, a small perennial with lovely true-blue flowers.




(Right) The Japanese pink-flowering crabapple has tiny red apples on it. The tree is really just ornamental, as the little apples aren't really worth picking.





I was suprised by the delicate-looking yet tough little primulas in the perennial border. They have bloomed from spring to late summer! These are yellow "Spring fever" primulas.





Potentilla "Helen Jane" is one of the new color varieties of the plain-old common yellow potentillas of shopping-mall-parking-lot landscaping.




Wild and domestic roses are making bright red rosehips. We discovered that the doggie likes eating rosehips! Her diet will be certainly be complete in vitamin C.