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September Surprises

It is always a thrill to stumble across a plant that I may have forgotten about or one that does something unexpected. That has happened several times over the past weeks.  First, the vine pictured above is the Eastern Prince Schisandra vine ( Schinensis chinensis ), also known as "Magnolia Vine".  I purchased it in May of 2023 from One Green World in Portland. I don't know what attracted me to it, other than the fact that I'd never heard of it before and the description sounded nice.  I didn't forget about this plant; in fact, it has grown quite vigorously up an archway at the entrance to our woodland path. It shares space alongside the rose 'Lamarque'.  I did forget that it produces berries, so I was surprised when I looked up and saw them dangling over the top of the arbor.  The berries are used in Chinese medicine. They are called the "Five Flavor Berry" and said to have five flavors in one - sweet, salty, bitter, tangy and sour.  Chinese le...

First Frost Bouquet



We had our first frost of the season last night on the last day of November. Kind of late this year. I went out and cut a few remaining roses to bring inside. It was so cold today with the high only reaching around 45. Dense fog was in place until around noon. I took my walk this morning and only encountered a few people. This afternoon, the sun came out and it didn't feel too cold but I was bundled up to the max. I did more pot moving and rearranged the deck. 

The remaining roses are 'Lady Emma Hamilton', 'Sea Foam', 'Gold Medal', 'Robin Hood' and 'Coral Cove'.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Glad you were able to gather them up before they withered away!

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  2. That is a gorgeous last arrangement of 2024, so good you get to enjoy them. I bet the sun felt nice!

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