Sunday, November 04, 2007

Yellows

What better way to use today's extra "fall back" hour than in the garden? Perennials were cut down and several hundred more bulbs went into the ground. Although we haven't had a hard frost yet, the dahlias were spent.



No tuber trials this year: the plants directly went the way of yard waste. Nature abhoring a vacuum, allium and tulip bulbs were cycled into this spot. After they bloom next spring, they'll be replaced by another crop of dahlias.



Around here in early November, it's all about yellow foliage. When the flowers are gone and the leaves are dropping, these bursts of color fire up an otherwise insipid garden.

The brilliant amsonia in the foreground came as a slip from my prairie-gardening pal, DK. I stuck it into a back corner and, now, look at it a few years later. In addition to the steely-blue flowers in the spring and yellow fall foliage, its habit is graceful and delicate (kind of like the gift-giver herself, come to think of it!).



Astilbe foliage is beautiful all year, even as it dies.



Yellow leaves set against the dark stems of Clethra alnifolia "September Beauty" are a stunning addition to autumn. Why didn't I discover this genus years ago? And can I find room for more of these plants? That French drain did create some opportunities for new plantings . . . .

2 comments:

Puffincentral said...

I love the amsonia - never heard of it before. Which one is it? There seem to be about half a dozen amsonias.

Doctor Mom said...

My best guess is Hubricht's blue star a/k/a narrow leaf blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii). Don't know how it would do in Orcadian gales, but it's lovely waving about in the wind here.