A Few Cool Weather Containers

In the walled garden, we tend to plant edibles in the few containers that are there. Here is a Hick's Yew that will go into the landscape in spring, surrounded by spinach for picking during the next couple of months. At the pool, "Spring Bouquet" Viburnum, surrounded by "Miracle" heuchera, "Liberty Bronze" snapdragons, variegated ivy, and "Delta True Yellow" pansies

Across the pool, we've repeated some of the same fillers around the cryptomeria, and added "Bull's Blood" beets. The tree will be part of a new perimeter border in the spring, and the ivy stays in these pots indefinitely.

Next to the garage, here is the same cryptomeria (part of the same border ultimately), with "Whipcord" arborvitae and variegated aucuba. The "Whipcord" seems to like life in a container far better than in the ground, so it just gets moved from pot to pot over the course of the year. It's also better seen in an elevated position, since it just catches all the falling leaves when planted in a bed!

Like lots of people, we have a tremendous number of Leyland Cypresses that were planted at the edge of the property ten years ago, and they're slowly starting to fail. They're such a beautiful plant when used correctly, and it kills me to see how they're always jammed into the "builder's special" privacy row! It's never a case of IF they will fail, it's just a question of WHEN they'll fail. We're going to use some of these cryptomerias to start replacing the ones which fail in one area, eventually replacing the privacy screen with an assortment of evergreens, rather than the great wall of leylands.

Fall's Last Hoorah?

We woke up to rain and pretty strong breezes this morning, so it's probably the end of this year's color show. I really like the autumn shades, but I'm ready for the leaves to stop dropping. Sadie the dog is up to her elbows every morning as we walk near the old sweetgum! Here are a few shots from yesterday.

This is the oak near the driveway at the Big House. The colors are almost surreal this year, with shades that appear blue in the sunlight.
This is the one month of the year that I think "burning bush" justifies the space it occupies in the garden.

The "Lion's Head" maple has been moved from the front porch to it's winter residence in the wooded area.

This last one is a Japanese maple whose name I don't know. It's one of the few that holds its burgundy color in the southern heat, so when it starts to go red, the shading is pretty fabulous.