Blue Pumpkins for Halloween

This year we grew blue pumpkins for Halloween. They're not bright blue - more like a ghostly greyish-greenish-blue, but that's a perfect color for the holiday, is it not?



After seeing blue Jarrahdale pumpkins last year on our trip to the pumpkin farm in Greenbluff, I found seeds online and ordered a pack. We planted a few in the mound of good soil left over from our front yard landscaping.



Due to a cold spring, the seeds sprouted and then sat with just a couple of small leaves until the end of June. Once it warmed up, they grew like gangbusters. Every day we'd look outside and the vines would be bigger. Honestly, they almost seemed to grow a few inches every time you glanced away! Above you can see how they tried to climb up and take over the trees. We had to cut those parts off, as well as the parts that grew onto the lawn.



After the yellow flowers were pollinated, little pumpkins started forming. My kids thought it was great fun to go out and count how many pumpkins were growing.



First they grew into large, mottled green pumpkins with cool ribs running up and down.



Then, instead of turning orange, the pumpkins turned blue! Eventually we had sixteen full-sized pumpkins to harvest.



We sent a couple with the kids to school to show their classes. We gave most of the rest away, which was great fun. But we kept a few to admire. If you want to grow some yourself, you can find seeds to buy when you do an internet search for 'Jarrahdale pumpkin seeds'.

Fiery Peony Foliage and Cut Flower Storage

The trees and shrubs are flaunting fiery fall foliage around here, and so are my peonies. Since they bloom for just a few weeks in June, it's nice to have a second season of color from them.



All of these photos were taken of herbaceous peonies in my yard. The Intersectional peony leaves are still completely green, but you can see there's a big range of color from the herbaceous types. By the way, I've got my two new 'Capitol Red' tree peonies planted. They look like a couple of twigs right now but will be pretty in a few years.



Although it's a strange time of year to talk about peony cut flowers, I just found this link from the Martha Stewart Show and Peony's Envy farm. It talks about how to store cut peony flowers in the refrigerator for up to six months!



The video is 15 minutes long and covers peony flower shapes and how to plant them as well as cut flower storage. The cut flower portion is in the last few minutes of the video.



Here's the basic process - you cut 1 to 1.5 foot long peony stems when the flowers are showing color but still tightly closed. You put a bunch of them into a cellophane wrapper (you can get them from your grocery store or floral supply store), set them in a vase filled with a couple of inches of water, and put them in the fridge. Or you fold the dry stems with newspaper, secure with a rubber band, and lay them in the fridge.



I assume you'd have less luck storing the peonies if you have apples or other ethylene gas producing fruit nearby (ethylene gas makes flowers and fruits ripen and eventually rot).



I'm excited to try storing some peonies next year! This is great information if you're wanting to have peonies for a late-summer wedding.



This is yet another reason to love peonies. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy their fall foliage before winter sets in.

English Roses in the Fall

My english roses are putting out their last flush before winter. Above is 'Abraham Darby'.



In the fall, english roses often send out really tall stems with roses at the ends. My 'Eglantyne' bushes, above, have a few of these super tall stems right now.



'Sister Elizabeth' had more flowers this fall than it did in its first flush in July.



Here's another shot of 'Sister Elizabeth'.



'Teasing Georgia' looks more peach than yellow in the fall.



This picture shows how 'Lady Emma Hamilton' fades as the flowers open.



'Princess Alexandra of Kent' had enough flowers to make a bouquet . . .



. . . so here's what I brought inside. I also included white 'Claire Austin'.



The 'Claire Austin' roses shatter quickly, but 'PA of K' holds up well in the vase. They both smell delicious. It's nice to have this cheery arrangement to enjoy while the weather outside is cold, grey and rainy.