Monday, November 5, 2007

November 5- The outdoor season is just about finished

November 5, 2007
What a glorious weekend, and to have an extra hour too. First the answer to several questions.
Last week I mused about hanging pumpkins. Well now we have three handing pumpkins from the walnut tree in the front yard. They are a hit with the local children. We put candles in them at night and they were rather spooky. Pictures follow. We will leave them there for the winter. It will be living art.
Second I wondered how the people at Longwood planted all those tulips. Do they start in the middle? I don’t think so. So they must start at the edge and work inwards. I suppose they must use some sort of board to walk on as thy move in. I hope it is big enough that they can knell on it. I planted 20 monsella tulips this morning. I did not use a board. I bent over for each one. I should really find a better way.

So the light is back in the morning today and much appreciated. On the other hand the front is coming through today. The unequivocal predicted low of 24 on Monday night is getting me to bring in all the jades and orchid cactus and a few other things as well. As a concession to age I enlisted the assistance of Julia’s nephew Peter who carried in the biggest orchid cactus. It is not just that they weigh 30-40 pounds. You have to carry them out in front of you in a way that hurts my back to think about. But they are inside and today I can bring in the lighter ones.

I just about have the picture contest ready. I am getting down to 48 pictures and we should get started maybe this coming Sunday.

So here are this week’s pictures. The first two are hanging pumpkins. The intent is to supply followup pictures as the pumpkins progress through the winter.
Then there are the plants in the house, which is where many are at the moment. The brugmansia starting to bloom around the dryer is a favorite. The last picture is the plants still in the protected garage waiting for a better place.




5 comments:

IBOY said...

I LOVE the hanging pumpkins! think what fifty or sixty would look like in your trees.
Don

philip Mears said...

I would put up some more but I can't find any pumpkins. All the stores I believe threw them away the day after Halloween.
I do approve of the theory that if 3 is good 50 would be better.

IBOY said...

You can tell we're male gardeners!
Don

Anonymous said...

How wonderful that you're going to mark our weeks of winter with your inspiring photos. Thank you for baring and sharing your horticultural soul.

Your pumpkins remind me of Andy Goldsworthy's work which we saw recently on PBS. I'll have to drive by periodically to watch their progress.

Anonymous said...

My vote -- the water lily lost out to Miss Lollaleelou. (Or is it a Truffella tree?)