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Wednesday 4 November 2009

In My Autumn Garden

The hard frosts are coming more often now .. the crisp mornings are refreshing and wake me up very quickly when I dance on the deck for sunrise pictures ... my Canadian side triumphs over the urge to scream a little when that cold hits the soles of my feet ? ;-)
I can't explain or illustrate how beautiful an event this was when the few remaining leaves on this tree in the distance caught the golden rays of the sun .. it was if they were instantly gold gilded for those few moments .. it was absolutely amazing and worth every bit of early morning cold my feet suffered : )
Leaves .... many leaves ... are still hovering in the garden. The weather for the weekend is supposed to be wonderful. That is when the last of the chores will be done .. finally putting the garden and shed to bed for the winter ..
I do 'leave' leaves on my borders beds though .. mother nature's blanket for free !
Golden Spirit and Royal Purple Smokebush .. Golden on the left and Royal on the right .
By next Spring I will be able to have them almost at the same size once I cut back Royal Purple.
They foil against each other wonderfully .. the contrast of their colours is awesome !
But .. in Autumn they seem in sync don't they ?

The yellow gold leaves against the coppery ones are beautiful when hit by the sunlight.

Bergenia cordifolia aka 'Pig Squeak" (which makes me laugh every time I say it) .. is a very pretty plant this time of year .. the colours of the rubbery leaves can be so striking !

I am amazed with Provence Lavender .. I put several of them in last year because the price was just too good to pass up and I was curious about them .. the first year I didn't see much action but this year was great for collecting the long stalks of the lavender flowers .. next year I hope to collect a lot more and do sachets with them .. so a thumbs up for this lavender plant !
Golden Barberry .. berberis thunbergii aurea .. I have two in the front garden and they are also beauties in Autumn .. the range of colours are eye candy : )
Pennisetum alopecuriodes "Hamlin" .. now does that look like a bad hair day or what I ask you ?
I like it no matter the condition of its 'hair" .. it is a sweet dwarf ornamental grass and good contrast with Husker's Red, Southern Bush-Honeysuckle and False Blue Indigo baptisia.
Thus the urge to get pennisetum Little Bunny .. who has the wiry hair but no flower heads because he was planted from a sale rack .. I have every confidence that those cute little fluffy heads/tails ? will show up next year though ! : )
And now for something completely different ... a "prisoner in a pot" aka my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree aka Austrian Pine kept "tiny" by mad gardener woman ... it is true .. I can not tell a lie .. I have held this Austrian Pine prisoner now for 4 years .. and that is that !
Ninebark "Satin Chocolate" ... turns an amazing bronzy reddish tone .. from dark dark brown most of the season to this colour is one heck of a transition .. it holds its head up with my Summer Wine Ninebark very well .. I am a happy gardener with it : )
My most outstanding pleasure has come from my Pacific Sunset Maple tree .. it has become the more commanding influence in changing the back garden into more shade garden every year .. but I can go with the flow and change what ever I have to ... I want a happy garden, so be it !

21 comments:

tina said...

Such lovely fall color Joy. I'd be screeching too if my feet hit the cold of the deck. It looks cold just from the pictures and I don't do cold very well at all.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Tina .. it really wakes you up fast .. then the need for coffee is even greater ? haha
The colour show has lasted longer than I thought so that has been a plus : )

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Beautiful fall colors! I just love the Fall show! I could sit outside and stare at the colors all day!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What beautiful fall colors. I love the 'Golden Spirit' and the Golden Barberry.

RURAL said...

You have beautiful fall color, and the textures of the rocks, fallen leaves, and grasses are gorgeous.

I hear you about the cold deck, in our case it is the bathroom floor. Cold condoitis.

Jen

Anonymous said...

Hi Joy~~ Love the colors! These are some of my favorite plants. Bergenia make such wonderful winter plants, don't they? Love the "prisoner in a pot." I might have to borrow this.

gittan said...

Good morning Joy! Your garden sure looks wonderful in ots fall clothes. I love the colour of that smoke bush. I have to see if I'm abel to get Golden Spirit to! Do you use to cut back Royal? Or are you doing it just to get the same size of them both? My Royal is three meters high and still keeps the dark colour of the foliage. We haven't had much frost here yeat / gittan

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Cindee .. I feel the same way .. it can't last long enough for me. We could skip winter and go right into Spring from Autumn and I would be a happy camper ! LOL

Catherine just about anything termed "golden" has beautiful Fall colour .. I am a bit of a soft touch for them too : )

Jen that was why we swapped that baseboard heater quickly too ! yikes ! haha
I am missing the element of water in my garden .. but I make sure I have as many of the others to make it as natural and beautiful as possible for the birds and butterflies etc .. I am a stone-a-holic ? : ) love the big pretty ones !

Grace girl you can certainly use my term of 'prisoner in a pot" because I just know there are other cases out there with me ? haha .. there are also so many gorgeous plants that look amazing in the Autumn : )

Hello there gittan ! I had intended to keep Golden Spirit and Royal in tandem with their size .. but I had to wait until Golden Spirit grew a few years .. I will be cutting back Royal Purple to match with it as closely as possible .. but if left on its own it would be enormous ! You need some hard frosts for it too change colour like this .. I imagine you will have that happen soon !

Gail said...

Joy, You lucky, albeit cold footed girl~~to see sunrises all the time! Sigh. Soon the leaves will be down and we can see a bit of the sunrise. I love how the setting sun lights up the trees in my wayback and gives the tips of the tops that golden glow. I think I am going to have to check out more ninebarks~I've got the perfect spot for another one. Yours are gorgeous...In fact your fall color is lovely. gail
You

our friend Ben said...

Wow, Joy, now I'm drooling over all your gorgeous fall plants! Fall color is simply the best!!! And of course we leave our leaves on the beds as well. I try to keep an eye peeled for curbside leaf bags to steal for the compost piles to make up for it! Sounds like you need some shearling slippers for those cold soles, girl!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thank you Gail girl .. the tip of that leaf tree was amazing for a few moments .. shining gold .. one of those things that you had to be there to really get it ?
The beautiful leaves that have fallen on the garden are a gift .. even with the measles : )
I'm really looking for those red sky mornings still though !

Hi 'ben" most of the time I have hot feet and go barefoot around the house .. but yes those moments on the deck are kind of COOL .. but nice at the same time ?
I love Autumn and it will be gone all too quickly ... sigh : )

Racquel said...

You have such beautiful color in your garden right now Joy. I've been eyeballing those Smokebushes at Lowe's this year. I was tempted to pick up a golden & purple variety (don't remember the names) but couldn't think where I could plant them right away. Maybe next year...

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi,
I would love to give this Provence Lavender a try in my own garden. I received a little vial of lavender oil, from Provence, earlier this year. Cant' get enough of that fragrance!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Racquel girl .. you have to find a spot for at least one of them in your garden some where ! My borders are small but I squeeze every ounce of plant life possible in them : ) LOL

Kate .. it surpassed what I thought it would do to tell you the truth .. I didn't think it would make it through our winters but it did and it thrives ! So when you get a chance to pick it up get a few .. the flowers are on tall stalks and so easy to hang to dry : )

donna said...

Who wouldn't luv a plant named Pig Squeak? Sometimes the fall colors are absolutely intoxicating and yours are no exception. I like the idea of dwarf ornamental grasses and think I should have some in my yard.

Anonymous said...

I just your fall garden, it has so many pretty colors to share. I'm glad you enjoyed my walk at Pickerington Ponds, did you see the others? Blacklick, Inniswood, and Chestnut Ridge were all full of autumn eye candy!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Donna girl you MUST have some of these grasses !! There are lots to choose from that are compact in size and very pretty like Blue Fescue or Blue Oat grass .. Little Bunny is going to be really cute once he settles down in the garden .. especially nice at the feet of something taller : )

Robin .. I usually think f you when I can get a glimpse of a bit of sunset here .. I know you get some spectacular ones .. but my red sky mornings aren't working out yet .. need more particles in the air to collect and reflect the sun .. ah ! for the eye candy !!

Victoria said...

Wow, that lavender looks great! how awesome! Lovely array of photos..so beautiful! A lovely uplitfing post..wonderful!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

hello kiki girl .. I'm sorry I haven't been visiting blogs lately .. not feeling too good .. and loads of work to get done in the house and in the garden .. one last day tomorrow and I really want to get the finishing touches done for winter .. I need a break ? LOL
Hope you are well : ) !!

garden girl said...

You've got some gorgeous fall color going on there Joy!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Linda ! .. Thanks very much, it has been a strange Autumn here this year .. it went by so fast I hardly believe we have had it? LOL