Each Little World

The Ginkgo gives up its gold

Despite its reputation for losing all its leaves in one fell swoop, Ginkgoes usually give them up a few at a time. Over a number of days you get to enjoy the color and shape of individual leaves before the big drop finally happens.

A transitional week

On Monday, Mark and I were outdoors working in the garden in shirt sleeves for much of the day. I took a break to enjoy my mini maples which had finally colored up.

On Tuesday the temperature dropped but it finally rained . . . 

and the paperbark maple tree just off the deck exploded into its fiery red fall color. Most years it does this at the same time the nearby Pagoda dogwood, Japanese maple and Fothergilla are peaking, giving us a spectacular show. This year all of them turned color in succession.

Despite the wind and rain, we still had lots of bright leaves on the trees when the rain turned to snow on Wednesday.

Now, here it is the weekend and it's back to work outdoors with hoodies again the order of the day.

Just when you thought . . .

it couldn't get any better, the fall color dazzled us this morning when we looked out the living room window. Mark was compelled to dash out and take a few more shots to capture the scene.

This Acer palmatum dissectum 'Viridis' changes daily but is always a stunning mix of orange, red and coral. The Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) has already lost a lot more leaves since Mark's photos of a couple of days ago. These are planted to the west of the deck and just outside our living room.

Maybe it was a trick of the light but the Bloodgood Japanese maple (Acer palmatum atropurpureum) had turned the brightest red we've ever seen it in the 12 years since we first planted it. This shot was taken from the front edge of the deck. The structure just visible between the red maple and Ginkgo is the roofed entrance gate of the fence along the back lot line.

Walking east from the deck, you come around the bog with the hills to your left or south side, and the tea house on the west side of the garden almost on the lot line.

Mark has taken a few steps south and now he's looking toward the Turtle Mound with the weeping Katsura (Cercidiplhyllum japonicum 'Pendula") in the background. The path continues behind the low hedge.

Standing on the crest of the Buddha Mound looking back toward the house. The last garden pots are resting upside down on the deck waiting to be washed and brought indoors for the winter.

On the back side of the Buddha mound is Acer palmatum 'Orangela' showing its fall color. We have had a lot of winter dieback on this maple but it also puts out a fair amount of annual growth. In its location, it is actually perferable to have it a bit small rather than quickly outgrowing the limited space.

Still behind the Buddha Mound, a bit to the west of the previous shot. Here you can see the full array of color in the back garden: white pine (foreground); cinnamon-colored Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroiboides 'Miss Grace'), the Japanese maple, Golden curls willow, our eastern neighbor's maple and bluish Scots pine. Then Mark turned around and walked through the gate into the yard of our neighbors on the south side.

Looking back into our garden with our weeping Katsura and the lower branches of our neighbor's Dawn Redwood, which happens to be the state champion tree of that species.

Back in our garden, Mark is standing at the top of the stream looking back to the Buddha Mound. The yellow leaves in the background are from the Carolina Silverbell (Halesia tetraptera) while the green weeping tree in the foreground is a Purple Fountain Weeping Beech. 

Walking behind the Tea House and looking back up at it from the path along the west edge of the garden.

Standing in the same location as the photo above but looking in the opposite direction. This is the "West Gate Garden," though the gate does not actually exist yet. The tree in the foreground is Acer mono 'Painted Maple" while a clump of Burning Bush (Euonymous alatus) burns brightly by the fence. Behind it, you can see the parent plant in our west-side neighbhor's garden. And way in the background — fading to pink — is the Burning Bush out by the street that is first to color-up each fall.

From where he's been standing, Mark now turns east (left) and heads back to the deck along the path behind the little hedge.

It's just started to rain, so these are probably the last shots of great color for this fall.

Fall color continues

. . . along with lots of leaves on the trees. So glad we're not suffering like the East Coast with snow and leafy trees. Just the opposite here: it's supposed to get up to the low 60s today so I am going to cut down the last plants in the garden. I've put it off because we still haven't had a really killer frost here in town. But I can't wait for the plants to die back on their own; not with a rare beautiful November day in front of me!

Two views of the Acer pseudosiboldiana. The picture below was taken over the weekend to show that the color gets more brilliant as the days pass.

Pagoda dogwood with Japanese threadleaf maple (clsoe-up below).

Trees at the back edge of the pond (above) and the near edge (below).

Mini maples

Most gardeners are familiar with dwarf evergreens but may not realize that a number of deciduous trees come in compact versions as well. I've written about my tiny Ginkgos in the past. This time the stars are my mini maples. 

This little beauty directly below is Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa'. I bought three of these in 2006 from Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery. The catalog call this "one of the rarest and most treasured Japanese maples, forming a magnificent multi-branched small spreading specimen." As you can see, it has tightly packed 5-lobed leaves which almost obscure the structure. They get terrifc fall hues but have not yet started to color up. 

Klehm says it takes full sun to partial shade and will be about 3-4' tall by 4-5' wide (1 x 1.5 meters) in ten years. According to those measurements, the two of my trees that get the most sun are more or less on schedule. The one that gets much more shade is still very small, so I decided to turn into a container plant for the deck. I always cage them so the rabbits and other critters don't munch on them during the winter. It may not be necessary, but with such slow growers I don't want to take a chance on losing even an inch!

I also bought three of these little maples, Acer circinatum 'Little Gem' (center above) from the old Heronswood Nursery in 2004. One died but the other two are doing well. They have more of a typical maple tree form with a rounded crown. Again sun to part shade is recommended but mine are definitely in more shade and don't color up very much in fall. This one is close to mature size of 4' by 4' (1.219 x 1.219  meters), at least in height. It lost a large limb so it's not as wide as it might be. 

Except for the one I mentioned, all of these small maples are in mixed perennial beds. As a result they are most noticeable when flowers aren't blooming — fall and winter seasons. This particular little gem was discovered as a witch's broom in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Fall color commences

The fall heat wave seems to have made the leaves more intensely colored. The big sugar maple has already dropped most of its leaves as has our big honey locust. Mark blew the locust leaves off the roof this afternoon so they don't clog the gutters when it rains later this week. A gorgeous afternoon to be working in the garden and enjoying the fall color . . .

except for those trees that just don't color up. This trio of  European spindle trees (Euonynous europaeus 'Aldenhamensis, below') that we bought from Heronswood ten years ago, fade unevenly to buttery yellow. But they do have stunning seed capsules that are hot pink with orange seeds. 

And they make their presence felt in other satisfying — if less colorful — ways.

The green garden: Weepers

After two days spent indoors at the Democracy Convention, it's time for a green break. More foliage favorites from the late summer garden.

Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Pendula' / Weeping Japanese Katsura

Pinus strobus 'Pendula" / Weeping white pine

Acer palmatum dissectum 'Viridis' / Green threadleaf Japanese maple 

Down the garden path — again

In the summer of 2009, we redid the main paths in our pond garden, changing them from wood chips to gray gravel. We did it for aesthetics, for the sound when you walk on it and to reduce maintenance and the cost of replacing the wood chips. You can read about that project here (Pt. 1) and here (Pt. 2). This spring we tackled the front path that meanders through the geraniums along the street side of the garden. I do mean meander; this path curves in, out and around the trees and shrubs that dot this area.

We actually started this project a couple of years ago when we took up the old mulch but we never got any further than that. I got the easy work; my job was to widen the path to three feet along its 100' (30.48m) length. Mark made me the equivalent of a yardstick with a handle to use as a measure to make it a quicker and easier process. 

I, of course, wanted to wait 'til the geraniums (three varieties of Geranium macrorrhizum) were in bloom so I could transplant the white and pale pink ones I pulled out and mainly discard the magenta ones. Our neighbors were also doing a big project at the same time and were happy to take lots of the geraniums for their garden, so I didn't have to feel bad about tossing tons of plants. 

Mark was hard on my heels with his shovel, cutting sharp edges and digging out the dirt. Both sides of the path had been bermed up along this curve, so we added rocks to keep the soil in place and add a sense of contrast and definition. The rocks had actually been sitting in the grass at the beginning of the path near the driveway for the last few years waiting for us to get around to this project.

As Mark removed dirt, he sifted it through a riddle he made a number of years ago. That way we wind up with clean "fill dirt" to use elsewhere in the garden. Of course, a 100' path gives you a lot of soil to stockpile so we're lucky we still have one side of the house where we can hide such things!

As I mentioned, this path is in the midst of many trees; most of them are older and have very large root systems that go everywhere. That, and the extremely hot and dry conditions made this a long, tough job. 

The temperatures were in the 90s while Mark was doing much of this work. When he took a break to sit in the shade and drink more water, he left an impression of "angel wings" — made with sweat instead of snow!

The temperature was only 87 degrees F. (30.55C) the afternoon the crushed orange gravel was delivered! 

He managed to put down weed barrier and then get about 2/3 of the gravel put in place before he knocked off for the day.

The view below is the same as the first image, but with the gravel in place. Leading off to the left is a shortcut up to the central Moon Garden. This path remains a wood chip path as does one on the opposite side of the garden in the Birch Grove. It also functions as a wheelbarrow access to the central garden area without having to circle all across the front garden to get there.

The view below is the same as the third image showing the bermed-up curve. Mark estimates he still needs about another half ton of gravel to finish the project. The original gravel was delivered, but this time he will have to make a couple of trips to the stone yard himself. He is not looking forward to having to get it out of the truck and then still have to haul it across the garden.

Luckily the temperatures have dropped back to normal which will make finishing the path a bit easier. It sounds wonderfully crunchy when you walk on this path, and unless it is really rainy and wet, it doesn't seem to be sticking to our shoes. 

If you look at the 2nd picture and compare it with the image directly ablve, you can see how lush the street side plantings are. From the curb you can barely tell there is a path here. When you walk through this part of the garden, it feels more isolated from the street than it obviously is. Part of that is the steep slope down to the street, part of it is the shelter provided by the trees arching above you and part of it is the fact that your feet on the path are lower than the plantings all around you. I've always loved taking the long way though the garden, and the change from wood to gravel on this path makes the trip even more pleasant.

Doublefile Viburnum

We have been growing Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesi' ) for 13 years. That means our shrub has reached its mature size (about 10' high and 15' wide) and is a spectacular sight at this time of year. You'd think after enjoying its performance all these years, we would have realized why it's called "Doublefile" before now. 

While we were admiring it this spring, we realized that the spreading horizontal branches literally have double rows of flat clusters of flowers. They resemble lace-cap hydrangeas which often confuses people who are not familiar with the plant.

Though it is a large shrub, the fact that the flowers "float" above the branches gives it an airy appearance. Later in the summer there will be berries and then wonderful fall color, making it a multi-season addition to the garden. Though it takes a few years to begin to develop its horizontal structure, it's well-worth the wait.

Luscious lollipop

This photo was taken on Friday afternoon when my little lilac lollipop tree (Syringa meyeri) was loaded with flowers. At ten years old, it is a gorgeous sight, with all that fragrance right at nose height. But our wicked weather made short work of the blossoms. It was all over by Monday afternoon, the result of too much wind and extended temperatures in the 90s. By the end of this week, we're supposed to drop down to the 60s, but this hot spell is doom for the peonies and iris which are at their peak. Today's job is to deadhead the faded lilac and cut it back to keep it from getting misshapen and top-heavy.