Beautiful reminders...

While enjoying the splendor and vivid colors of fall..I stumble across a beautiful reminder of a spring yet to come..
Abraham Darby--David Austin English Rose

"How I would love to be transported into a scented Elizabethan garden with herbs and honeysuckle, a knot garden..and roses..clambering over a simple arbor."
Rosemary Verey

Anticipation....

What a cloudy, wet, foggy day---it is just beautiful! A day I have been waiting for...anticipating...for a long time. We had a nice, soaking rain this weekend--Thank you Lord, very much! The summer was long...record breaking days over 100, and no rain. But, you are not going to hear this "flower gardener" complaining. I was just tired of watering and not getting to spend a lot of time outdoors. However, there are farmers losing crops, and ranchers having to sell their cattle because they couldn't grow enough feed. Stories are heart-breaking. And the forecasters are anticipating next summer to be the same. Actually, we were told last summer to expect the hot, dry weather--but I for one did not listen. I am listening now.

My flowers have been ok. Many are still blooming. Thank goodness last spring I started to buy more perennials..going with lots of natives that can take the heat. Glad I did. This bed of lantana mixed with re-seeding cosmos, blue salvia and turks cap has been pretty all summer.
So needing to clean out the bed on the opposite side of the yard anyway, I planted 3 little lantanas trying to get a jump start on next year. I also scattered lots of wildflower seeds. I get excited anticipating seeing wildflowers in spring, then lantana spilling over the bricks in summer.
The zinnias around the Pistache tree were amazing this summer. All but a couple along the edge (that were still blooming) are now gone and the bed awaits bluebonnet seeds. I scattered a few red poppy seeds last week thinking the red and blue would be pretty--but I will admit this may be my last year for wildflowers around this bed as the weeds become more and more of an issue. I know I have always used way too many containers, but with such a small backyard I am always looking for more opportunities to plant flowers. But of course, it's the containers that take all my time in summer. I really like all my old buckets and pretty glazed pots filled with color, so not sure if I can let them go. I will most likely continue to plant twice a year; pansies for late fall and winter, then a bright annual for late spring into summer. It seems like as a gardener I am always thinking of the next growing season..anticipation. Guess that is just part of the passion of growing things, but for today this gardener is feeling very blessed with what is growing today, and enjoying this perfect, cloudy, dreary--beautiful autumn day.

"There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been! " ~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Back in the yard - Class is over!!

Last Monday was the last day of Master Gardener classes--yahoo! However..we were given the take home exam which included 8 chapters of about 50 questions in each one. So I bet you can guess how I spent last week. I closed myself up and worked on the exam for 2 days straight. But I can happily say that the exam is finished, I will turn it in tomorrow. After one year of internship (volunteering 72 hours in MG projects), I will graduate and be an official "Master Gardener." Whew!
While I was busy with school, summer turned into fall and I realized this weekend that my little garden was in desperate need of attention. The first thing I did was clear out the old wash tub and plant 3 different kinds of kale with a few pansies tucked in.
The Mexican Mint Marigold started to bloom so it will stay where it is for a while. It dies back in winter so I may need to plant a few pansies to cover it when that happens. Note to self: need to cut this plant back in July--it got rather leggy this year.
All the seeds I planted are coming up nicely--well... we will talk about this later. There are a few TOO many seeds coming up nicely (that are not bluebonnets!)
My main area of concern were the beds along each side of the flagstone walkway, and around the the pond. The pond beds were just cleaned out and got some nice new mulch for winter. The flagstone beds were totally cleaned out and planted with pansies. I also added a few snapdragons to this bed. I have always wanted to try them, and seeing some healthy looking plants at Home Depot for a dollar-well, this seemed like the right time.
I added pansies to both sides of the walkway. These beds house daffodils and tulips down deep in the ground, so it's nice to have something to plant on top. When the bulbs start to pop up, the pansies will not get in the way-they just add more spring color to the show. Ummm, just the thought of that spring flower show makes me smile!
Have you heard of the new cascading pansies? I read about them a few weeks ago in the paper and decided to buy a pot, plant it in a hanging basket and see what happened. This one came from HD. I noticed the flowers are not as large as traditional pansies, but larger than violas. I'll give you updates on this plant. Hopefully by spring I will have an overflowing basket of sweet smelling flowers!
The old wheel-
barrow has not gotten a winter make over yet. Would you believe that those yellow flowers hanging over the side (all the way to the ground) are marigolds I planted last spring? Yep! They just keep blooming. I will say the foliage is starting to look kind of brown, so it won't be too long before I will have to pull them out and fill the wheelbarrow with something else, but until then I will just keep on enjoying fall in this space.
It's hard for me to believe this past year has gone by so fast. It's not cold here in Texas, but we are starting to get fronts that will bring us seasonal cooler weather. As I do so often when seasons change, I pull out my articles written so many years ago by the late Jo Northrop. I know I have mentioned this before-Jo Northrop was legally blind..but oh how I loved "seeing " the seasons through her eyes:

"The exquisite cranberry and chrysanthemum days of November are a gift. We intensely and thankfully absorb them, knowing the inevitability of sudden, bone-chilling cold. Even in clear autumn sunlight, a scarecrow among fallen leaves in a deserted garden looks cold. It is this deepening of the season, passage toward the end of the year that gives November a quality that is energy charged...In these fine cranberry-chrysanthemum days, every day can be a day of thanksgiving."

Fall at the Arboretum

I took a break from my hectic schedule to visit the Dallas Arboretum last week. It was so pretty and fallish! Join me for a short tour...
The little cottage was cute and cozy like always..
and the giant lilies were still floating on the pond.
The water wise area was blooming and looking happy,
but the real show this trip were the beautiful fall flowers and..all the PUMPKINS!!

There were houses made of pumpkins..















There were beds bordered by white pumpkins,
and beds bordered by orange pumpkins!
There was a German cafe surrounded by hay bales and pumpkins.

Who knew pumpkins grew on sweet potato vines! : )
There were pumpkins stacked up every-
where!
There is always something wonderful to see at the Arboretum-even if you just want to sit and relax.
Of course of all those pumpkins-this
little
"punkin"
was my favorite!

"Thyme" for Seeds!

Happy Fall Y'all! It has sure been busy at my house. No one told me Master Gardening school would be so..well..hard! Sorry I haven't been visiting your blogs lately. I study all the time! And, all of a sudden, it's fall! The temps are cooler, pumpkins are at the markets, as are mums and scarecrows. Love it! In the business of life, I almost forgot that it was "thyme" to plant wildflower seeds. Well, I didn't really forget-but the temperature was so hot here mid September I thought I better wait. I called the Wildseed Farm to verify, and they agreed-"wait for October" they said.
So, as I turned my calender to October yesterday, I realized the time had come. I had to pull up a lot of flowers from this bed around the tree. That was quite a job, both physically and emotionally. The flowers were leggy and looking pretty sad, but they still had blooms on them. I hate, hate to pull up things in bloom, but I did have seeds ready to plant, so I got busy.
Last night I soaked the bonnet seeds, and bright and early this morning I was ready to start scattering. Wildflower seeds must touch the soil, you don't really plant them. After soaking all night, the bluebonnet seeds became plump and felt like tiny little rocks. Very easy to grab a handfull and toss them here and there. I love scattering seeds-makes me know how Johnny Appleseed must have felt! :)
I do have a few rosettes coming up from last year-can you see this little one in front of the rock-but I have so little space to have flowers in the back, I use the beds to plant annuals which makes it hard for the bonnets to re-seed successfully.
I scattered seeds everywhere I could find a bare spot. They may not germinate in all spots, but why not try and hope for spring blooms.
This sunny spot is the corner wildflower bed that has only crazy wild things in it. I scattered bluebonnet seeds, mexican hat, horse mint, standing cypress and indian paintbrush here. In spring, I will add plains coreopsis and ox eye daisies.

I love seed planting day in fall! It teaches me patience, gives me hope for the future, and brings me joy! I can't wait to see what surprises these little seeds will bring me next spring!

"The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing better than they have ever done before!"

Vita Sackville-West

Just couldn't help myself!

Ok--so it's 95 degrees outside...I am at Home Depot...and what do I do???
Well, of course--I buy asters...











..and mums!

Please hurry fall!!

The Wedding is over and The Mexican Marigold Mint is in bloom!

What an absolutely fabulous weekend we had. The weather for the wedding could not have been any better. Everything was decorated for fall...the church, the country club where we had the reception..it was all beautiful! I only have a few pictures right now, but if we get some good family pictures, I will post those later. This is a sweet picture of our Pastor explaining the vows to Jen and Jason.
And a picture of the very happy couple cutting the cake. (and YUM was it good!)




With the exception of the bridal bouquet, all the flowers were fall colors. These are what the bouquets looked like on all the tables at the reception. They were in short round vases with 4 votives surrounding them.(I didn't keep their vases-this is one I had in the garage.) The chocolate brown napkins on the table had a pocket fold with a silk fall leaf and little bag of chocolates tucked inside. I got to bring some of the flowers home. Roses in every fall color filled the vases along with several other things. The florist did an outstanding job.

And, while I was busy with wedding details, my Mexican Marigold Mint started blooming! I bought this as a small plant back in early summer. Just one of those things I wanted to try. I didn't even know it bloomed in fall! It just got taller and taller all summer, and now it has these buttery yellow flowers.
Sorry the close up is so blurry-I wanted you to see the cluster of flowers blooming only at the top.

Mexican Marigold Mint is native to Mexico and Guatemala where its foliage is used for teas, seasoning and medicinal purposes. Herb gardeners in Texas often substitute this plant for French tarragon, which cannot withstand summer heat in Texas.
Although it is a marigold, this plant is not susceptible to spider mites. After becoming established, very little needs to be done to keep Mexican Marigold Mint looking attractive, although growth may be pruned back before June in order to shorten the ultimate height. Mexican Marigold Mint does best in well-drained, sunny locations. The leaves are slender and have notched edges, and the blooms are in clusters of golden-yellow single flowers, appearing from mid-fall till frost. There is a noticeable fragrance of anise associated with the plants.
This plant even survived all the October rain we had! I think this will be one of my fall favorites!

Do you have a favorite fall flower this year?

November

It's November! Can somebody please tell me where October went?? And, while you're at it, can someone please explain what happened to summer!

From time to time I go back and read articles I saved written by the late Jo Northrop who wrote for Country Living magazine many years ago. This is from one of my favorites of her "Simple Country Pleasure" articles about November:

"The exquisite cranberry and chrysanthemum days of November are a gift. We intensely and thankfully absorb them, knowing the inevitability of sudden, bone-chilling cold. Even in clear autumn sunlight, a scarecrow among fallen leaves in a deserted garden looks cold. It is this deepening of the season, the passage toward the end of the year, that gives November a quality that is energy charged."

Jo Northrop was legally blind; however, I think she "saw" the seasons better than anyone else and described them so vividly. Through her writings I can see that scarecrow standing in the now empty garden, and I can feel the sudden chill of the north wind. And the passage toward the end of the year is certainly exciting-(thoughts of spring flowers-whoo-hoo!) And, for us, this November is very "energy charged." Our daughter's wedding is next Saturday--so I will be away from blogging for a week or so getting ready for the big day. (I think it was just yesterday I was driving her to dance lessons! )

Happy November everyone! I wish you all cool and crisp cranberry and chrysanthemum days!

Fall at the Arboretum

It has been so rainy in the Dallas area, I have had a hard time finding a Saturday to go to the Arboretum. Even though today was cloudy and pretty chilly, it was a great day to tour some of the gardens.

It is fall, and the trial gardens are full of plants showing off their fall colors. It was so wet, I just stayed on the walkway and didn't venture over like I usually do. Looks like most things did really well this past year. They will be planting bulbs and pansies pretty soon I think.
The cute little thatched roof house is still transformed into Hansel and Gretel's house. The plants on either side of the walkway look like they are about ready to stop blooming, but they have been spectacular this past year. I love the cottage look this area has.

This is one of the ponds. I think it looks great! It won't be long before the lilies and poppies will stop blooming. In the winter, the ponds look cold and lonely, but the minute warm weather returns, the pond comes back to life.
This is one of the beds around the grassy meadow. This time of year the Arboretum beds are full of coleus (my favorite!) and ornamental grasses. The colors are normally very striking-this cloudy day does not do justice to their brilliance.
And, Cindee, I took this picture just for you! These hens and chicks were really big!
Can you tell it's getting about time for Halloween? woooooo...

And of course, we saw lots and lots of pumpkins!

They lined the walkways..

There were pumpkins to buy..

There was even a pumpkin house!
But we had the cutest pumpkin there!