October 2007

We're well into fall today, October 6th, and it sure shows in the yard. The lilies are dieing back, most Hostas as well, though there are a couple of notable exceptions. I cannot believe for example how good 'Maui Buttercups' still looks, and there's some nice fresh green growth as well as a new scape on a 'Feather Boa'. Go figure. Most of the Hostas you see here are well on their way to dormancy.

These are the 'Maui Buttercups' I was talking about. Not a hint of senescence on any of the leaves. If it's this good looking this late in the season I wonder how late it comes up in the spring, early risers tend to be early sleepers, like 'Hyacinthina' for instance.

For good measure, this is the 'Feather Boa' I made reference to above. Nice, fresh green new leaves, and what the heck, why don't we send up a new scape?

In late August, when I first noticed my new Hosta plantaginea Venus was putting up some scapes, I had hopes for the weather to stay hot enough long enough to allow the buds to fully develop and have it in flower by perhaps late September. Well, Mother Nature did not cooperate, obviously was not aware of my desires. While early September was fabulous, by the time month-end rolled around we were definitely into fall and the plant listened to what Mother Nature told it and started to prepare for winter. Too bad, hopefully it'll start putting up scapes earlier in the season next year.

Hope springs eternal though, doesn't it? It's October 6th 2007 and this is one of the four 'Fire Island ' divisions that were treated with bleach in early September. Looking pretty good, what?

You gotta love how good Heucheras still look in early October, like this 'Mocha Mint' division.

I must admit I'm quite pleased with how well this particular cultivar has done for us this year.

I had great hopes for Heuchera Key Lime Pie, but they somehow never quite panned out this year. It's doing alright here on October 8th, but to me in this condition it is still like a dream unfulfilled.

Even though quite obviously out of it's normal season, it is nonetheless very nice to still have a blooming lily or two in the yard. Don't recall off hand which variety this is supposed to be.

Earlier in the year things did not look very good for the Echinacea in the North sideyard. Our darling Neka had taken it upon herself to 'prune' it, but by keeping the main stalk away from the barrier around the garden box gave the plant an opportunity to recover. This is one about 6 or 7 flowers still on it.

I am very pleased with how our Hosta 'June' did this year. Not only was it a good size, it also flowered rather profusely. By the middle of October some of the pods have started to open up, signaling that it's time to harvest the rest of the lot and grow a few next year. June seedlings apparently can be quite varied in their colour, including reported yellow ones. A nice yellow seedling with the substance of the June leaves would be a nice thing to have, even if it is only a solid coloured one.

While you do see some fascinating colours this time of year, they never stay around long enough. Before you know it it's all mush....Among all this senescence, it's nice to see the Heucheras still putting up a nice showing.

No doubt we would all love to see these colours on our Hostas in the spring. This is 'Blue Mouse Ears'.