Farewell to September

 
It is hard to believe that October is almost upon us. We had a really wonderful weekend with mild temperatures in the 70s and not a drip of humidity. I loved it! Today it is rainy and about 75 degrees. 

Yesterday morning I took some photos before breakfast. You will notice that everything is uncommonly green and lush right now. Normally it is parch-dry this time of year and a few drops of rain are cause for celebration. This has been a wet year and the garden and myself are greatly relieved.

Looking through the pergola, you might notice something amiss. That would be the rose "Buff Beauty" directly behind the urn. I pruned the heck of it about a month ago. The rose, although one of my absolute favorites, has had a lot of die-back on the lower branches. The rose is also much larger than I envisioned. I wanted a view through the pergola so that the eye could travel past the rose, to the statue of Efebe and to the garden wall farther behind. "Buff Beauty" changed all that with its massiveness and aside from removing it, there is no hope. Now it looks like the new growth is reaching upwards. Okay "Buff Beauty", you win!

Chester says "Who cares? It is bath and nap time."

To the side of the pergola and up the steps to the side garden. The garden is very wooly at the moment but at least it is green. On the left, coming over the wall, is the plant from hell, Chamelion Plant (Houttuynia cordata). Take my advice - don't ever plant this. It is the most invasive plant that I've ever dealt with. In the upper left, note the beautiful ginger plant that never blooms.

The garden wall is rapidly being overcome with the Ivy "Gold Child".

The Secret Garden is mostly green with hydrangeas and hostas. Lots of dead wood on the rambler rose "Bobbie James" on top of the iron gazebo that needs to be cut out.

Looking from the opposite direction you see Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum) on the right and Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum) near the center. This area is right underneath a Black Walnut tree (at right)

On the other side of the house, the north side, is a small area underneath a Yoshino Cherry tree. The plants here are nandina, camellia, cast iron plant, hydrangea and ferns. The Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa "Fireworks") can be seen under the birdhouse. It has just started to bloom and I'll post photos for my next post.

The view from the other side. I'm afraid the rose "Sombrueil" and "Climbing American Beauty" on the archway is suffering greatly from lack of sunlight. I should just bite the bullet and replace them with a shade loving vine.

 I'm hoping for a colorful, cool Fall. Wouldn't that be wonderful?


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy