Serendipity Gardens by Carol Hegel Lang

When I was looking through quotes to use with this article I found one by George Cooper called “October’s Party” and I just thought it really captured the essence of October. “October gave a party; the leaves by hundreds came — the chestnuts, oaks and maples and leaves of every name. The sunshine spread a carpet, and everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band.”

Autumn is like Cinderella getting dressed for the ball in her finest gown and sparkly shoes, and the grand coach awaiting to take her to the party. The trees are dressed in their brightest colors and then, when the magic hour arrives, they fall to the ground and wilt and the beauty of autumn is gone for another year. How beautiful the season is with colors of orange, red, yellow and burgundy on the trees. The grasses add their own beauty as they turn yellow.

One of my favorite bushes in the fall is burning bush and I don’t see as many of them planted anymore and that is such a shame as the burgundy color is so gorgeous. My Japanese maple turns blood red in the fall and then for winter the leaves are a crinkled brown before they finally fall off in late winter. I have nursed this poor tree since it was a twig, and the last two winters have wreaked havoc on it. I have noticed many dead branches high up in it. I would really hate to lose this gem in my gardens.

All of my rose bushes are loaded with buds just waiting to open before a frost takes them. The amber flower carpet is looking much better than it did earlier in the season.  One of the rose bushes I moved last fall has taken until now to look really good and the blooms have been lovely.  All of the rain we have received lately will sure help all the trees and bushes through the long winter as they have been stressed the past couple of years of drought really has been tough on them.

This spring I planted red leafed mukdenia and until now it was just a green leaf with a bit of red around the edges. Boy, oh boy, is it ever a standout now as the leaves have turned orange, yellow and red. It might be a small plant of only 8 to 12 inches tall, but where I have them planted they really shout out loud of color.  When I renovated the front garden I sectioned off several small areas so that I could plant only a couple of plants that would highlight the area. In this little garden area where the two of the mukdenia are planted is also the black negligee bugbane that is blooming now. I really like these little mini gardens that break up the rest of the garden.

The giant white bacopa that are planted in containers in front of the house are putting on a last show as they are back in full bloom now that the temperatures are cooler.  Unfortunately, the yellow non-stop begonias didn’t perform as well this year. The containers are looking a bit on the ratty side so I guess I will get those emptied out very soon. One of the prettiest buddleias I have ever planted is called royal red and it is a tall one coming in at over 5 feet tall and covered in blooms that the butterflies have really enjoyed. Although, it is a zone 5 perennial, I will have to put it in the unheated garage if I want to keep it for next season as it will not make it through the winter in a container outdoors. When I walked through the front garden I noticed the clementine aquilegia has been chewed down to the stems so that all of the leaves are gone. I wonder who ate them. Enjoy the party.

“A woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart.” — Hal Borland

 

Carol Hegel Lang is a green thumb residing in Albert Lea. Her column appears weekly. Email her at carolhegellang@gmail.com.