Tuesday, November 12, 2013

November in the Garden

Years ago, I thought that the garden season ended with the first frost. I'm so glad that I was wrong.



Now I know better, because a garden can actually be interesting year round. Every November, I am surprised to find flowers still in bloom, even after they have been kissed by a few frosts.



Tonight we are expecting a killing freeze, so that will be the end of the these last flowers. It's always a sad day for gardeners. It will take more effort to find the "interesting" that I mentioned earlier.


Soon the fall colors will fade, and much of the landscape will turn to shades of browns and grays. It's a tough time for color lovers like me.





The winter interest I mentioned will be the dried grasses and flower stalks left behind. That's why it's important to use evergreens in the landscape.

I have to say that some of my ground cover plants are nearly evergreen, like this Chocolate Chip Ajuga and the nearby Dead Nettle, or lamium. Honestly, the lamium often sneaks out a flower here and there even in January. That's why I let it go a little crazy out front. It's worth it.



The last tree to lose its leaves around here is the ornamental pear planted by the city in the easements throughout our town. I look forward to this sight every year. I've always called it my clown tree, because it has so many colors at once. But someone else called them The Skittles Trees, and I like that even better.



November in the garden, who knew?

13 comments:

  1. So much color! I have little left so it is nice to visit here. Our color is past peak and there is a bit of snow on the garden.

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    1. Much of this color is already gone, sad to say. I knew it was almost gone, so I had to run out with my camera and capture it, just in time.

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  2. So much color! I have little left so it is nice to visit here. Our color is past peak and there is a bit of snow on the garden.

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  3. So nice colors! Ours has gone .... Most of the trees are leaveless. Thanks to our stormy weather.
    But today we have a very clear sky und sunshine. But the days are so short. Day length 8:40 and in the afternoon it's dark. Puh!
    So I enjoy your colors!

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    1. These pretty colors have mostly faded away already, sad to say. Like you, I really dislike the short days of winter.

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  4. Your weather has obviously been a lot nicer than mine...your pictures are what the landscaping around here looked like several weeks ago! There is NOTHING left here anymore; just a few straggly leaves here and there. No plants at all. I absolutely love your groundcover...the multi-colored one. Is it that color all the time or just in the fall?

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    1. We still have a little left, but lots of this fabulous color has already faded. The snow and cold temps on Tuesday really did a number on it. But the amazing part is that so much of it is still vital, especially up close to the house. I swear, my house really keeps things cozy nearby! The ground cover you admired is called Chocolate Chip Ajuga, and it only looks like that in fall. Actually, it doesn't look bad throughout the winter either. In the spring, it blooms beautifully and turns all green again. And it spreads like crazy!

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  5. We would be more then happy to see all of those leaves still. What a pretty tree that one is, going to have to check to see if it's hardy here.

    Jen

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    1. I think there are several varieties of ornamental pear, including Cleveland Select, Callery, and Bradford pear. They are short lived trees, and sometimes landscapers will scoff at their overuse. Guess what? There's a reason they are used extensively, they are beautiful for a long period of time. It's bitter cold now, but there are yet a few leaves left, glowing like a lantern. But the show is almost over.

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  6. I like the idea of a skittles tree! Great name! I am already trying to remember interesting winter topics for my blog: Great Tree Bark, Great Bare Twigs, Great Stumps, Great Rocks, Great Gray Skies, Great Brown Grass, Great Dried Seed Heads, and Great Books to Read! But I can count on a walk in the winter garden to give me a few more interesting ideas...I hope!

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    1. You're right, there isn't much excitement in the winter garden, no matter how hard I try to plan for it. The main problem is that there's nothing new! I look at snow and ice, visit the indoor conservatory, and before I know it, the early bulbs are popping out.

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  7. Robin girl you have a gorgeous Fall garden ! .. I love that little ornamental spruce and all the different cedars you use .. and a blanket of ajuga there is amazing ! .. you have inspired me to concentrate on achieving a more detailed winter garden next year : )
    Thank you for your kind words on my post .. I don't like to reveal personal information like that but the day got the best of me .. and it was said. Some sort of stress relief I think ?
    Joy

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    1. Winter here in central Ohio is quite gray, plenty cold, but not much snow to cover up the browns and grays of winter. So I had to plan for some winter color to keep the gloom away. As far as winter color, well, I'm mostly talking evergreen. But my favorite winter color by far is the sedum Angelina, and the way it just glows in the cold. Not sure if it would work in climates where it would be buried by snow, it's low to the ground and you might not see it! You'll see a good example of what it looks like in winter in this old post. http://lifeinrobinsnest.blogspot.com/2012/02/sweet-surprises.html

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