The Changing Seasons

My neighbor across the road always calls me when the mail carrier comes down our road. I am so far from the road/mail box that I would never know when to go to check it. She has a good view of the road which is very close to her house. I appreciate these calls as it saves me unnecessary trips. Today she called before 11:00 which is early for our mail to arrive. Recently it came at 5:30 in the evening.

I planned to walk up and get in some exercise but I chickened out and hopped in my handy dandy golf cart. I did have a lot of mail and put in under my leg to prevent it from blowing away. The vineyard looked inviting so I rode down, not looking for anything in particular. I rode up to the bluebird house that my brother Gene had made for me. I have had it for a long time and it has a new door. The squirrels like to chew the 1.5 inch opening and gnaw it into a larger hole so they can winter over in the box. I do not want to have to replace this door again so I disengaged the large nail which holds it closed. It did indeed have a nest in it so I had to clean it out and left the door hanging open. The squirrels can just nest in the hardwood trees which are plentiful here.

Backing down from that end of the vineyard I noted which vines we will cut this winter. I really hate to part with any of them but those in the shade will not produce in that location so they may as well go. I saw other vines which had been cut years ago but sprang back up and are now a mass of vines and weeds. I wondered if they were trained might they produce the black grapes so many people like to use for jelly and wine. We have plenty of the pink Higgins and only two of the dark black almost seedless grape vines. My friend Bob planted them years ago. They are my favorites. I do have a grape called niagra which is showing promise. It will have green seedless grapes, much like the Thompson grapes. It was moved up in the vineyard from near the road, to give it richer ground.

While on this tour I looked for a short cut down to the kiwi vines, but they had all grown over with yellow goldenrod. I learned recently that goldenrod does not trigger allergic reactions as once thought. I had to go the long way around the pear trees to get to the kiwi. The crop this year is lean indeed. I will be lucky I think to get 30 kiwi. That is very disappointing but they had been severely pruned. One which Jim pruned is putting out growth again. It is really hard to put a good man (or kiwi vine) down. When I neglected those vines they produced heavily!

I then ventured to the raised beds with the electric fence around them. This was not a good summer for tomatoes for me. The best producer I had was a volunteer. It is now loaded with green tomatoes, but without the proper sun I have no great hopes for them to ripen. Still, it could happen.

Everywhere I rode today the purple ageratum was waving to me. Some plants just like to spread to other areas. Fortunately they like to go to areas where I am not planting other things, as along the east fence line and on the hill which is covered with ivy anyway.

One of the flowers which delights me is pink cosmos. Last year I cast some seeds around the oriental lillies out back. the seeds were varied and the only ones that grew were the pink cosmos. Now they have produced seed pods.I picked the dried ones and scattered them along the edges of the woods. Maybe some will take root and give me splashes of pink along with the goldenrod.

It is just the nature of nature to change and make us change with it. New activities, new projects, different foods and what I like most in the fall is the grapefruit season. So, there is much to look forward to even as the warmth of summer leaves and the cool winds of winter approach.

Faithful Fall Flowers

One of the things I look forward to in the early fall is the appearance of big yellow blooms on the Stone Mountain Yellow Daisy. There is a story of how I became the recipient of these beautiful flowers. My good friend, who is no longer living, showed them to me in his garden. I admired them so he simply reached down and pulled some of them up by the roots. He told me to plant them where I wanted them. I was doubtful that they would grow after being yanked up that way. He assured me that they would indeed grow and spread. So, I did as he said and yes, they did grow and thrive and are now planted in three different places near my home. When they appear each fall it reminds me again of my friend and his wit and creativity. He is the friend who built the wall shown in the photo of the daisy.

Another fall perennial which appears about the same time is the Purple Ageratum . It is a product of "accidental gardening" a term which was introduced to me by my New Jersey gardening friend. This little purple flower was a hitch hiker which came along with some Liriope from my home in Decatur. In my home there I had a patio out back and around it I had planted some Liriope which was given to me in one of those sharing incidents. When I brought some of the Liriope up here to plant I did not even notice the ageratum as it was not in bloom. However once the Liriope was established the hitch hiker began to appear, first in the soil that it came up here in then it began to pop up in other places. Each fall I find a new spot where it has traveled and put down its roots. The roots are a web of crossing fibers which lace back and forth. The seeds must travel by way of the petals on the blooms. I can think of no other way that they would find themselves down the hill and growing by the foot bridge. I have never planted them anywhere on this place but they seem to pop up everywhere. I have pulled them up where I did not particularly want them but eventually just stopped doing that. Now I accept them as one of natures little fall surprises.

Another perennial which earns it's keep is the Autumn Joy Sedum. It is not a spreading plant but once established just stays there for years. This year it has the best color I have seen since I first planted it about four years ago.

Another faithful flower though not specifically fall appearing are the Gerbera Daisies . They are not fast spreading but once they are put in a favorable spot they live there for years and spread slowly. I have some near my front door which have been there for about ten years. I have dug some of them up on several occasions but left a few to continue living in that spot. They are in full sun and that suits them perfectly.

There is a shade loving plant on the north side of my house which blooms in the spring and continues to bloom until we have a hard freeze. It is the shamrock. There are three of them and they do not like to compete with the roots of other plants. I had to rescue them this summer when some rude weeds threatened their space. By pulling up the intruders and putting down rich soil I gave them permission to once again shine with their perky white blooms which close in the evening and reopen in the morning. It gives me much pleasure to have these faithful little friends greet me when I go back and forth from my back door.

At the time of year when other plants are finished growing and begin to dry up it is very rewarding to have these colorful ones come along to claim my attention and lengthen my gardening interest. It is like seeing old friends reappear. I know they are still around but do not notice them until they suddenly appear to greet me once again.