Ok, ok. I know its been a long time since I've blogged but you haven't missed much. Between freezing rain and chilling wind, the weather hasn't been conducive with happy gardening. Below is an image of my winter container looking a little worse for wear. Included is Magnolia grandiflora, Ilex opaca, Ilex opaca 'Longwood Gardens', Cornus sericea 'Cardinal', Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea', and Celastrus orbiculatus, also known as bittersweet. Most of the bittersweet berries have dried up and dropped and the magnolia leaves are starting to turn a bronze color, but, hey, if you had to sit outside through a snow blizzard and sleeting rain you wouldn't look so great either.

I know this isn't Longwood related but I have to include a holiday photo of my mom, our dog, and a beautiful Douglas Fir from the Christmas tree farm I helped to manage.

Fall Container Time!

I really love container planting and I feel as if I'm getting a bit better at it. My fall container has a great burgundy, purple, and pink theme and, although I feel confident about my plant choice, I feel as if I still need to work on the overall balance of my containers. Here is a list of the plants in my fall container: Heuchera villosa, Agastache mexicana 'Red Fortune', Lobelia 'Grape Knee Hi', Heuchera 'Southern Comfort', Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic', Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea', Lonicera 'Crimson Cascade', Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria', Muhlenbergia capillaris, Stokesia laevis, and Chrysanthemum 'Brandi'. I look forward to seeing everything fill out and am already starting to consider how to create winter interest in both my garden and container.

A few fall changes

When the asters are in bloom you know it is fall. The Aster nova-angliae in my garden, which had previously been nibbled on by scavenging deer, is in full swing and is one of the brightest colors on the block. When I am walking home from work, I can see the brilliant purple of the asters from across the Castanea mollissima grove, which is also showing its autumn attributes by dropping delicious chestnuts. I moved the Aechmea 'Patricia' from my container and into my garden in preparation for my fall container display. It not only fills a hole from the still unsolved death of the Euphorbia, but has a fantastic architectural shape I am hoping will draw passerby into my path. The Salvia 'Lady in Red' is in full recovery from its haircut a few weeks ago and the Kniphofia is still sending up it's blooms. All in all, things are looking good!

Slowing down

Not much to report since I've cleaned up my garden. Everything is behaving for the most part. My class is in the thick of finals so it has been difficult to spend any quality time working on the garden. I did have a few Celosia and a Euphorbia peter out in a section by my path, both a seemingly mysterious death. Here is a nice image of Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields' poking up through Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Tilt-A-Whirl'.

Cut backs

Finally able to spend some quality time in my garden today, I went in and did some deadheading, as well as cutting back anything looking remotely ratty. Feeling vicious, I clipped out bunches of Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum' and trimmed out the tops of some salvia and coleus.

A fantastic plant with great form and a wonderful wildlife attractant. I love the scent of the foliage when I happen to rub up against it at the opening of my path and am beginning to think this cultivar may be one of the best.

Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' continues to bloom...

A look at my garden after my little hack session. I'm especially curious to note how quickly certain plants flush back or set blooms. I feel much better knowing there is more air and light circulation in my garden so as to avoid pests like white fly.

Hot Stuff Coming Through!

A lovely evening picture of the sun hitting upon a few pumpkin leaves cohabitating with an unknown cultivar of Solenostemon and the Gloriosa on the fringes.

An example of one of my labels. An arduous task but well worth it.Hibiscus acetosellus at about 4 and a half feet tall, looking fantastic with a Cyperus papyrus.

The endearing little nooks my garden has are naturally created by my rock wall. This adorable plant is Asarina scandens 'Joan Lorraine' and she's just about to bloom.

This Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildiana' just won't give up. It continues to be a show stopper in my garden and a fun one to photograph.

A cute Knifophia I've been waiting on. The first bloom was nibbled off by deer and I'm glad this one has made it. With a great habit and a wonderful texture to the foliage at the base, I will definitly buy Knifophia 'Border Ballet' again.

Still growing

The Lobelia cardinalis is in full swing! I don't think it would have made out so well in this site if not for all of the rain we've received this year. This plant and the Coreopsis tripteris were a gift from my former place of employment, Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware.

I managed to make this sign one evening. It took me a few hours but it will last a lifetime. The copper was very thick and thank goodness my name is only 4 letters!

Its been quite the busy week and have only gotten out into my garden to weed for the upcoming garden evaluation. Things are looking good and I've been working on hammering out a few copper labels using an old fashioned type set. I must admit, though, my mind is already turning to what I will do next year in this space....