I'm leaving October in the rear end mirror. Halloween turned out to be a non-event in my neighborhood once again, although Mother Nature graced us with a very pretty sunset.
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| View looking southeast |
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| Drumroll please! I had a grand total of 2 trick-or-treaters. I'd estimate they were between 3 and 4 years old. They arrived together accompanied by 5 adults, proud parents and grandparents. Although I gave each a handful of candy, I had a lot left, which I put in the driveway entrance with a sign. |
Intent as I've been with what needs to be done in my garden, I almost missed the little bit of fall foliage currently present there.
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| The larger of my 3 Japanese maples, Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku', was already past its prime when I noticed it had turned golden |
I'll provide an update on current projects later but right now I'm focusing on what's on the horizon. There are already bulbs gearing up for spring.
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| The Freesias (left) have been pushing up foliage for a month or more. Ipheion uniflorum and Scilla peruviana (right) are also well on their way. |
And I've only just started planting the large number of bulbs I'd already accumulated (not to speak of those that are still on their way to me by mail).
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| I planted the 40 bulbs shown here Monday afternoon. I planted another 20 on Tuesday afternoon (10 Tulipa humilis 'Alba Coerulea Oculata' and 10 Narcissus 'Beautiful Eyes'). I still have 75 Allium, 10 Tulipa 'Lady Jane', and 100 Ipheion on hand. (What was I thinking?!) That doesn't include the Anemones ordered for my cutting garden, several lily bulbs, and 15 Hippeastrum yet to be delivered. |
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| However, I did get 2 other Hippeastrum bulbs I'd already received potted up yesterday. Some of those yet to be delivered are intended as holiday gifts... |
Meanwhile, the garden is producing other plants and flowers without any help from me.
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| While working on seasonal cleanup, I discovered 3 tiny Agave 'Jaws' pups (one shown left), a 'Mediopicta Alba' pup (middle), and what I think must be an Agave titanota I don't remember planting, which is being squeezed out by an Agave 'Blue Flame' (right). The latter is supposed to be a solitary specimen but it looks like it's producing pups too. I'm going to have to find a way to extricate it. |
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| Two of my Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' are sprouting bloom stalks (one shown left). This variety is known to produce a second round of bloom but, as dry as its been, I was surprised to see this. In addition, Mangave 'Bloodspot' (right) is producing what's at least its third bloom stalk within 2 years. |
So much to do, so little time! What's on your garden's horizon? Are you packing plants away to safeguard them from the worst that winter may bring, or are you scrambling to get new plants in the ground as you hope for rain as I'm doing? Yesterday, the forecast here held out a 56% chance of rain overnight but that projection has now nearly evaporated.
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
It looks like you've been on a bulb binge, Kris :-D
ReplyDeleteI went a little crazy with Dutch Iris last year, but almost none this year. Almost, because I planted 15 daffodils bulbs. Over the years I've planted a few hundred daffs with very little to show for: they don't succeed in my Seattle garden. Those 15 are my last effort.
I love all your pups! Its exciting to find them and I expect you can always find room for anther Agave, at least in a pot.
chavli
I didn't plan on going on a bulb binge but apparently I can't be trusted with bulb catalogs, Chavli. Daffodils generally do well here, although I've had some fail on me. Dutch Iris does surprisingly well and I seem compelled to add more every year. I actually also have a package of Dutch Iris 'Pink Panther' (another 30 bulbs) I didn't mention, mainly because I haven't a clue where I'm going to put them.
DeleteThat's a lotta bulbs. Your golden Acer there is just so lovely, in its form as well as in foliage. Freesias waking up here, too. 60 new Dutch Iris bulbs here for '23. They are so easy, so pretty, and in slightly different micro-climates flower at different times, extending the bloom season.
ReplyDeleteWe got 0.16" here. Tomorrow the Santa Anas will dry everything out again. Sigh.
We got 0.11/inch of rain here overnight. Better than nothing! It looks as though there's another chance of rain starting Sunday night and stretching into Tuesday but then we know how reliable those longer-term projections are...
DeleteOh, so many bulbs! Rather you than me. I will be tidying up in the garden as we had another cold front coming through, bringing with it rain and strong wind. Some plants are lying down, having given up trying to remain upright in the soil. I will look forward to seeing your Scilla peruviana in flower.
ReplyDeleteToo much of anything is rarely a great thing - I wish Mother Nature could be more measured in her approach to rain in both parts of our world, Jane. I really can't explain my decision to order so many bulbs, other than to say that installation never seems as daunting in the abstract.
DeleteWow, you had a lighter Halloween than I did. I suppose part of it is the day of the week. The crowds of kids always seem busier when Halloween falls on a weekend. It will be fun to see how all your plantings perform over time. :)
ReplyDeleteThere have never been many trick-or-treaters here but, since there seem to be more young families than when we moved in 11+ years ago, I thought traffic might pick up. However, the next door neighbors told me that, even decades ago when there were lots of families with kids, they never got much Halloween traffic. The area is hilly, unlighted and many of the driveways are either long or gated so perhaps that's the explanation. I do miss seeing the little kids in costumes.
DeleteWell, you sure out-bulbed me this year ! All I bought was 50 daffodils for fall planting . Since it is 30 degrees out right now as I write this , I expect today will hold some triage -there was no warning for this frost; the advisory was activated at 2:58am so was of little use to me . I took cuttings from a few Coleus last week -just in time as it turns out !
ReplyDeleteOuch! I'm sorry to hear about the unexpected frost, Kathy. We're frost-free here, although the temperature appears to be stuck at 55F this morning despite sunny skies and, combined with persistent wind (howling last night) it feels colder still. It's not particularly conducive to tackling my long list of garden chores ;)
DeleteWe're back from NYC and I'm faced with a very unfriendly forecast. Time to kick it into high gear and get the rest of the garden winterized.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're not having to scramble, Loree. I know you got an early start moving plants inside.
DeleteWe only had two little Trick-or-Treaters too! Kind of bummed about that, but there aren't that many kids in our neighborhood right now. Oh well... I need to hire someone to help me extract some plants that have gotten too big or taken liberties I don't condone (Black bamboo). After an entire spring/summer of neglect, I'm almost dreading going out there... My muscles ache just thinking about it - it's time for some major editing.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up with a bamboo "forest" outside my bedroom window, I'm very wary of bamboo, beautiful as it can be. Best wishes with the projects, Anna!
DeletePlanting bulbs = fun! :) I love the anticipation of waiting for those first shoots to appear. You’re going to have a bumper display, Kris! Nice that you can spend so much time out in the garden now that things have cooled down. I’m amazed that you can keep a Japanese maple looking so good in your climate.
ReplyDeleteHere, my (mostly potted) bulb display is dying down (daffodils, ipheion, babiana, tritonia) so I’m about to move them to an out of the way spot in preparation for planting out a display of annual potted colour.
I planted another 171 bulbs today and 30-odd yesterday. But one of my outstanding bulb deliveries arrived this afternoon so I can't even say I've caught up yet! I'm worried about the low rainfall forecast for this winter, typically our one and only rainy season - I may have to hand-water those bulbs just to get them to sprout.
DeleteHave fun planting your new display!
I have to laugh now that I see I wasn't the only one bemoaning a large bulb order. I just wrote about this same topic today. It all seemed so reasonable back in August when I ordered them. And, it all seems so much less fun when I am trying to find somewhere in the garden to plant them in the hard, hard clay when it's cold outside.
ReplyDeleteI really did go overboard, Jerry. I thought my first 2 orders were reasonable - and I had at least vague notions where they were going to go when they arrived. But then I ordered more and picked up others at my local garden center on a whim, only subsequently realizing that I'd lost track of how much room they were going to need. As of today, I've planted 301 bulbs. I have 6 more Hippeastrum to pot up (some are intended as gifts!), 60 Anemones that just arrived, and just 1 more bulb (I think) that's been delayed in shipping, another Hippeastrum. So my total is 368. That may be my largest total for one season but I'm almost afraid to check.
DeleteBest wishes with your own bulb planting!