Where did the summer go?? This is a catch-up post covering several ‘shoots’ in the Temporary Garden at various times during September and October.
Finally, in early September the direct-sown morning glory ‘Heavenly Blue’ decided to start flowering. The obelisk is about four feet tall and believe it or not, all that growth is coming from only two seedlings. I’d also planted two moonflower seeds at the base of this obelisk but apparantly the morning glory must have eaten them!
One of these days I hope to find the same ‘Heavenly Blue’ that I grew at the house I owned in 1999; it was a less vigorous plant overall but the color was a pure true clear light Wedgwood blue that I’ve never gotten since from any seed packet labeled as Heavenly Blue. Those flowers had no hint of purple in them at all and the delicacy of the color was amazing. I don’t dislike the typical Heavenly Blue’s color but, well, it’s just not the same…
Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’ really is the best of all the callicarpas; I tried ‘Amethyst’ in my former garden and was seriously underwhelmed.
This anonymous heuchera certainly looks healthy. There are a couple of others in different beds but not as vigorous as this plant which actually gets the most shade because it is directly beneath one of the Obnoxious Oaks.
The ubiqitous shasta daisy, with a serious case of the flops because I didn’t bother to hack it to the ground twice during the growing season. By the way, does anyone outside of Long Island call them Montauk Daisies, I wonder??
That white buddleia just kept going and going all through September and well into October; if anyone were to name this cultivar ‘Energizer Bunny’ I would not be surprised at all.
Here’s the coral bark maple, which I would bet money on being Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’, starting off its autumn show. Supposedly the cultivar name means “coral tower” in Japanese. This is a tree that I’ve always admired and plan to include in my next house’s garden, probably in the front yard and with a Carolina silverbell on the opposite side. As shown in the third photo – which is the most recent – the foliage is now starting to shift from yellow to red.
Because there are so *$^@!# many of them in the Temporary Garden, I got a head start on hacking back the ornamental grasses (which are among my least favorite plants except for a few very low growing selections.) This cut-back grass is now doing a wonderful imitation of a lemon/lime hedgehog and as such is rather interesting, I think!
Anonymous abelia, looking decidedly decorative.
It’s autumn, so of course there are berries…
There is a large – as in, pushing eight feet tall – privet right next to the driveway. I have learned to not park my car too close to it. The driveway is made of cement, which means the black berries make it look as if someone has spilled a giant tub of peppercorns.
One of several barberries (Berberis atropurpureum whoknowswhatcultivar) along the rear property line, whose spines will make life interesting next spring if I decide to cut back the tall gangy spindly pussywillow that was set amongst them.
The Killer Viburnum was producing both new flowers and berries from the last bloom cycle. I say “was” because the day after I took this, I fetched my nice new pair of ARS pruners (thank you, dear son 🙂 ), donned a sweatshirt and a pair of long gloves, and had at it. It is now about four feet tall and three feet wide, which I feel is perfect revenge for the discomfort the beast put me through earlier this year. It may well get reduced further next spring to, say, 24 inches or so. We’ll see.
These are NOT welcome berries that are dangling ever-so-gracefully like Mother Nature’s botanical chandeliers; they belong to the Evil Solanum, which would take over the world if allowed to. I’ve never had a garden that was free of this pest, thanks to the WASPS (Worldwide Avian Seed-Pooping System) which has a delivery-efficiency rate that both UPS and FedEx would envy. This particular specimen has firmly established itself throughout the depths of an extremely large and viciously spiny holly, which means the only thing I can to do about it is to point my camera at it and swear a Fearful Oath, followed by a shrug as I remind myself that it will eventually be The Next Owner’s Problem.
Next project: fallen leaves. Might I have mentioned once or twice how much I now hate oaks…?
The Chatsworth Lady 
You have a lot going on in your garden and it looks gorgeous! I especially love the photos of the coral bark maple–beautiful
In my last garden I dithered between having a coral bark maple and a katsura as the focal-point tree in the backyard, and in the end opted for the katsura… which ultimately got murdered by Hurricane Sandy. Don’t know if the maple would have fared better though…
Your temporary garden is full of autumn colour, it must be lovely. How can you hate an oak tree? They are the kings of the forest.
I agree, they are! But they don’t belong on the typical suburban 1/3 or 1/2 acre lots, where limbs and/or trees can fall on houses and cars, not to mention the headache and/or expense of autumn cleanup of leaves and acorns ($400 is the average cost here). Also I discovered after moving here that I’m severely allergic to oak pollen and can’t medicate for it. So for me, oaks are a nightmare all around… except for furniture, flooring and woodwork!
Love morning glories!
You’ve some nice things there, including your very leafy morning glory (the leaf shape is very curvaceous). I like the colours on the abelia too.
Lovely, M’Lady. Simply lovely.