Fall- week 5- October 19

We had another nice weekend. That was good because there has been a lot to do. It is a time to finish things. The plants really do need to get inside. We are leaving for ten days on Wednesday so I cannot wait until the 10 o’clock news tells me that it really will freeze in 6 hours. Those last 50 plants must come inside now. The woodchip pile is gone, spread out around the garden paths, just in time to be covered with newly falling leaves.
The little bits of color remain here and there. The white anemones persist. I do remember that when the temperatures stay between 40-60 flowers last. That is why tulips last three weeks in the spring, unless they are blasted with a hot day.
The monkshood gives patches of wonderful blue on the ground to match the sky.
And then there are the surprises, the fall crocuses. Some of the ones that I planted a month ago are blooming now, lasting just about a day before they fall over. Some planted last year are just coming up.

So here are pictures.

First there is the tiny white crocus, a colchicum Autumnale ‘Album’.










Then there are the crocuses with the orange parts.
















Here is an inside plant, a phalanopsis orchid. This time of year I cannot ignore the orchids. They do become part of the garden cycle.















Finally here is the Italian arum, giving leaves a good name. I remember how brown leaves in the background can make pictures good. There will be brown leaves in the background for months.










Last week the monkshood finished ahead of the Anemone group shot.
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Here are bonus pictures taken around the garden in the glorious fall.








































































We are going to be gone next week, enjoying the east coast. I will see you all in two weeks. The picture contest and the hanging pumpkins are coming.
Philip