Saturday, November 24, 2012

Looking For Hope

As my personal life spins out of control, I've been looking to nature for strength and consolation.  Like any good gardener, I try to take a long view.

Sedum sieboldii (above) has spectacular color as it finishes.  It's fleeting, but I look forward to it each year...probably even more than the flowering.

Dwarf cotoneaster shines right now.  It's way too ambitious to live in harmony with its more mild-mannered brethren.  I cast a new square trough for it yesterday, but I'll wait for spring to transplant it.

Ilex verticillata 'Spriber' seem to be content in a large hypertufa pot, maybe because its male counterpart is potted up six feet away.

This lonicera has great yellow color right now, as well as a last handful of flowers.

Little bluestem and oakleaf hydrangea.

This mossy rock is normally hidden behind ferns and anemones.  I'm always happy to see it again in autumn. 

Sedum spectabile has plans for next year already.  I'm jealous.

Erica x darleyensis 'Kramer's Red' is starting its four-month show.  It waits until March to change to a darker pink.

The first flower of the winter jasmine opened yesterday.  It flowered for weeks in that tough December last year.  

Welcome back, my friend.  Not much has changed in the last year.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Post-Hurricane


We survived Sandy relatively well.  We lost power for three days, but had no flooding, no roof damage and the huge maple in the backyard is still standing.  Our generator felt both necessary and extravagant during the outage.

We feel pretty lucky as all around us are friends in neighborhoods approaching a week without power.  One friend slept fully clothed under the comforter last night and woke to a 49-degree house this morning.

Walking out of the house after the storm I was struck by the fine layer of leaf litter, almost mulch, that was spread across everything.  We even had drifts of the finely chopped leaves on the windward side of the house.  Hurricane confetti?