November Garden

Among the daydreams of our recent garden adventures in England is the real life garden at home here at Chickadee Gardens. Before I delve into a deep Great Dixter daydream for the next couple of posts (the last place we visited in England), I want to stop for a moment and appreciate my own garden in full-color swing right now. We have been working so hard on it and it feels like it is knitting together bit by bit, finally. Here then is our little corner of the world in early November.

Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku' has had a pretty good run with its autumn coloration. I like it juxtaposed with the emerald green of Hebe 'Karo Golden Esk'.

An absolute favorite for foliage color is Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet'. Its early summer flowers are white pipe cleaners with pretty bright green foliage. In late October it turns to this, brilliant cranberry shades and often holds onto its foliage through winter.

Even Calycanthus has a little color. Next to it is Berberis jamesiana and its coral colored berries. Its foliage will turn colors in a couple of weeks.

Spiraea betulifolia in golden and red shades.

Stewartia pseudocamellia changing colors in the center. This is the edge of the western woodland garden. Earlier this autumn FM took up the sod beneath this corner and added wood chips as a mulch. It looks a lot better.

A variety of deciduous shrubs turning color in the western woodland. Among them are Hydrangea quercifolia, Rosa foliolosa, Spiraea betulifolia, Cornus sericea 'Hedgerows Gold' and Viburnum ellipticum.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Blue Feathers' with Viburnum opulus var. americanum behind it. This color combination is one I really appreciate, powder blue with shades of red.

Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst' adding a punch of vibrant color to the western woodland.

Looking up the driveway with the western woodland on the left, Spiraea betulifolia lineup on the right (though Spiraea betulifolia is also the brightly colored shrub on the left).

Looking northeast towards the gravel garden and meadow garden. The new spring addition of the graveled area can be seen in the upper left of this photo.

Detail of the edge of the meadow and gravel gardens, Amsonia hubrichtii glowing in the foreground.

Here's an exciting new project. Earlier this year I mentioned we would be expanding FM's latest bed to reach across the southern stretch of the property. This week FM rented a sod cutter and did indeed take up the sod. You can just make out the dark line extending from the bed on the left.

A closer view, this is facing east. Though difficult to see, earlier this week I planted it with a stash of plant material I had been saving, plants such as Frangula (syn. Rhamnus) californica ssp. tomentella, Baccharis pilularis 'Pistol Pancake' (Cistus introduction), Salvia 'Celestial Blue' and so many other treasures that have low water requirements. The area will be mulched with wood chips, continuing the bed across to eventually end at our gate.

The new stripe of brown just behind the large maple tree, while seemingly insignificant here, brings me much joy. When the plants fill in they will help to block noise from the road below and enclose us more as well as creating cohesion to garden beds and overall flow of the garden.

The edge of the meadow area is filled with amber colors from Amsonia hubrichtii and Anementhele lessoniana. Seed heads of Achillea millefolium, penstemon and other perennials add to the ambiance. The tall stalks are Digitalis ferruginea.

The southern edge of the garden where FM removed sod this spring and added wood chips for mulch. This is the bed that's been added to at its western end.

Some shrubbery love including Arctostaphylos pumila on the right, rosemary on the left and Ozothamnus 'Sussex Silver' top left. You can just make out the fading corn stalks in the veggie garden in the distance.

Phlomis russelliana doing its pom pop thing which will continue right through winter until I finally cut them off in early spring.

In the heart of the labyrinth garden Solidago 'Fireworks' puts on a little color.

Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' also with autumn foliage color, creeping thyme at its feet. Phlomis russelliana on the left again, the large shrub left center is Salix eleagnos var. angustifolia. This section of the center of the labyrinth was heavily reworked about this time last autumn and is beginning to fill the gaps left by vast amounts of the removal of Rudbeckia hirta. The Rudbeckia hirta sulked every time the soil became even a little dry, so it had to go.

Looking south from my garden shed towards a limbed up Olearia 'Dartonii' in the center. Muhlenbergia rigens grass on the right. Two Acanthus mollis that flank a path (center) at the edge of the labyrinth had a long recovery from what was a bad summer last year. They are surprisingly actively growing right now and look better than they did all summer.

Fading corn stalks in the vegetable garden remind us the busy season has ended. The apple harvest was fabulous this year, we lost our plum tree to what looks like borers, had few if any cherries, many pears and the figs are just ending now. Persimmons still to come (ripening) and the nectaplum will probably be removed as it's never fruited and is always sickly looking with peach leaf curl. Not the best climate for it, I think. It was overall a good year for producing food and I'm excited to try a few new things next year.

Muhlenbergia rigens, deer grass, is always wonderful, especially this time of the year. Two of the three Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku' can be seen in the background. Azara microphylla is reaching for the sky giving good dark contrasting colors to its surrounding neighbors.

At the edge of the meadow garden with many grasses, perennials, seeds and texture. A lot to see still even in November. Teucrium chamaedrys in the foreground. This will remain intact until late winter when it all gets cut back. This time of year and into late winter many birds pretty much live in this: sparrows, juncos, towhees, finches and the occasional flock of bushtits. 

Foliage colors near the shade garden while not spectacular are filling in nicely and changing the character of what was blank canvas of weedy field grass. We may remove more of this grass next year as we tend to remove a little every year. This is an area of grass that turns quite brown come June, so it makes sense to cover it with plants that will thrive and cover the soil.

The berm garden looking fine in early November. Itea v. 'Henry's Garnet' is the red foliage.

Veronicastrum virginicum 'Album' with golden autumnal foliage. I did an experiment with these this year. It usually gets so tall that it flops open as well as dries out quickly in hot, dry weather. I gave them the Chelsea chop (in May) which is basically giving them a haircut to keep them much shorter than they would be otherwise. Not only did I rarely have to water them this summer, but they stayed short as you can see and did not flop. The flower show wasn't as spectacular and was much later but it worked.

Parting shot out of our window looking south towards the new bed, barely visible as a brown strip going horizontally behind the large tree.

Now that the rains are here and I have a little extra time I have been planting treasures that have been awaiting their homes. The primary area is the extension on the south edge of the property, but additionally I have been collecting a few specimens from Cistus Nursery where I work. Many are west coast natives that are particularly drought adapted and new to me, more on those to come as they fill in. A few came from a dear friend who is moving from a five acre garden to a condo in town, plants such as a second Stewartia pseudocamellia, Drymis lanceolata, Cornus 'Compressa' and others. Also a few plants get moved this time of the year to better locations, though I really dislike moving plants. I tend to leave them where they are once in the ground. But if a plant is not happy I do my best to make it so. 

It is satisfying, this time of the year, for the overwhelmingly busy season is finally settling down and I can check off those to-do items on my long list. New plants in? Check. Sod cut? Check. Mulch spread? Working on it. Hebes propagated? Check. Now to go make applesauce from our bountiful harvest.

 

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always thank you so much for reading and commenting, we love hearing from you! Happy autumn gardening! Stay tuned for Great Dixter adventures next time.