Fall Colors: Crimson and Gold

I've been hurriedly snapping shots of the garden lately, hoping that I'll have enough to illustrate this blog until spring. I don't have gorgeous red maple or pin oak trees turning colors in my garden, but I do have some smaller plants sporting fall hues. I thought I'd post these colorful leaves today after focusing on green ones last week.



These first three shots are of peony leaves. Funny, but the first two pictures show divisions from the same mother plant. The crimson plant was less water-stressed than the golden one.



Here is a 'Limelight' hydrangea bloom in front of the ruddy peony plant. Despite being planted in a challenging spot, this hydrangea has put on new growth and flowers each year. I can't say the same about my bedraggled 'Endless Summer' hydrangeas. Of the five bushes, only one plant put out a single bloom this year.



These last two shots were taken on the same day from the same tree. The great news is that this is the transplanted dogwood, which survived the summer! Now if it can just make it through this winter, I think it will be 'out of the woods' and sure to survive its recent move.



Fall is a last burst of fiery color before the greys and whites of winter. This week has been sunny and warm (up to 80 degrees F), and I'm soaking as much in as possible. Then hopefully I'll survive the coming winter, too!

Plain Green is Not Boring

Is it because winter is approaching that green seems more beautiful than ever? Above is a picture of corkscrew rush, Juncus effusis 'Spiralis'. This plant is part of the grass family, and you can see its small brown flowers hanging from the spiraling blades.



I've heard that this winter is supposed to be especially cold and moist. That means it will be a long, long time before my hostas - like 'Blue Angel' above - show their heads again above ground.



Tiny Sagina subulata, or Irish moss, looks like a magical forest up close. Supposedly this plant is evergreen, but I'm learning that evergreen perennials aren't very attractive during our cold winters. They look just half-alive, which is worse than fully dormant in my opinion.



This is the biggest hellebore leaf in my garden, on 'Velvet Lips.' Most of my hellebores are still getting established and aren't even close to full size. I'm hoping to see pink 'Kingston Cardinal', peach 'Apricot Blush', and yellow 'Golden Lotus' bloom for the first time next spring.



Here is lady's mantle (Alchimella mollis) blooming earlier in the year. Doesn't it look like ballerinas in tutus swaying about? It's much too pretty to call 'plain.'



And here is a rosette of blue-green Lewisia cotelydon leaves. It would look better without the hard water stains all over. But it's still an interesting plant, even when out of bloom and just 'plain green.'

Dahlias or Daybeds?

With frost fast approaching, the dahlias haven't much time left. So I'm enjoying them while I can. These pink ones are 'Excentric', which I ordered from Swan Island Dahlias this spring.



Swan Island has an excellent selection and good prices, and if I ever decide to try dahlias again I'll definitely order from them. If you live in a climate with a longer growing season then Spokane and you like dahlias, you should check them out (by the way, no one pays me to say anything on this blog).



This vibrant dahlia is in the same flower bed as all the similarly-colored petunias (in the background) along the flagstone path. It's pretty and cheerful around there.



This 'Giggles' dahlia is in the front yard. Anyone who has read me ranting about how I hate construction-barrel-orange will laugh when I say that I love the color. But the hints of pink and the different shades of orange are so intriguing. I always stare at them when I walk by.



And now we come to the reason for the title of this post. The bumblebees think these dahlias make perfect beds! I've seen half a dozen bumblebees lounging at once on these dahlia flowers.



When I walked by the other day, a bumblebee was sitting on a dahlia and lazily waving her leg at me. I had to chuckle at that. Was she thanking me for planting her favorite flowers?



The bumblebees are crazy-busy on the nearby catmint. Maybe they tire themselves out so much that they have to rest on the conveniently located dahlias. Whatever the reason, it has been very amusing to see them all lying about.



Speaking of crazy-busy, I've been neglecting to answer comments lately. We've been busy getting back-to-school shopping done. But school finally started today for the older two (hooray!), so I should have more time to spend here. Except that I've got several hundred bulbs to plant soon . . . well, we'll see.