Wet Wet Wet
WordPress tells me I’ve used this post title twice.
Only twice?
Water pours out of the gully taking run off from the Precipitous Bank.
The photo wasn’t deliberately taken in black and white, it just turned out that way. Too many days recently have been like this and it’s not just the garden that is suffering. Inside the house the new plaster needs to dry, a process which has slowed significantly with the onset of autumn if not been slammed into reverse. And until it is properly dry no decorating can be done. The dehumidifiers are back.
It isn’t all doom and gloom. In fact if the photographer spins around 180 degrees on that very same spot the view couldn’t be more different:
Acer palmatum ‘Ozakazuki’
This is allegedly the most vibrant of all the Japanese maples and who could disagree. This year it is spectacular. It’s been touch and go. ‘Ozakazuki’ lost its leading shoot many years ago and as a result, perhaps not unlike its owner, it has tended toward the short and wide. It’s a characteristic which hasn’t gone unnoticed by Himself. A tree could be acknowledged as the most aesthetically appealing specimen on the planet but this will mean nothing if its branches should dare to impede his progress down the path.
And so, back at the beginning of the year, I finally succumbed to the pressure and Ozakazuki met with its inevitable destiny and an appointment with the loppers. Her circumference was reduced and, to retain proportion, her skirts were lifted. I have to admit, I was pleased with the overall effect not least because the elegant structure of the trunk and lower branches has now been revealed. But oh, did she bleed. It’s a characteristic of acers apparently and pruning, if it’s necessary to carry it out at all, should always be done when the tree is dormant. Even so, even in January, I worried that I might have gone too far.
Acer palmatum ‘Ozakazuki’
The tree came into leaf late in Spring, somewhat thinly at first, and she’s produced more seeds than I’ve ever seen before. I hope this isn’t a sign of imminent disaster. There might be fewer grumbles from certain quarters but I would still hate to lose this tree. It looks healthy enough for now. Time will tell.
In the greenhouse, protected from the strong winds that have also featured of late, mini me… the bonsai maple.
It may seem a strange time of year to be reconnecting with the garden, but this is what has happened. With so much else going on over the last six or seven months it has been neglected more than ever before.
A long look back down the Precipitous Bank
Bold stands of autumn colour punch through the backdrop of weeds. Double the work next year. Hey ho.
Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Emerald Lace’
Rose ‘Desdemona’
While most of the roses have succumbed to the rain ‘Desdemona’ is still going strong. She was the first to bloom in late Spring and is now the last to expire in autumn. Conveniently situated close to the house it’s been easy enough to snip off the dead heads on the rare occasion the secateurs have passed this way and as a result she’s been in bloom virtually continuously for the last five months. A touch of blackspot now, almost impossible to avoid down here, but a real do-er nonetheless. And she easily carries away the chez duck trophy for the rose with the strongest scent. What’s not to love?
Since we moved here I’ve been working hard to build up the garden’s late season interest. Here’s a few more of the plants creating an impact right now:
Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’
A new entry to the garden just a month or so ago and such a worthy punch of colour that I’ve already purchased and germinated a pack of seeds as insurance. A short lived perennial it grows fairly tall (to 1m) and has a tendency to be leggy, especially towards the end of the season, so it’s best to plant it middle to back of a deep border. ‘Prairie Glow’ would work particularly well with grasses and will be perfect here on the Oudolf inspired Precipitous Bank.
Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Little Henry’
The unusual tubular petals on this one, and its leisurely build up to blooming, make it another gem for early November. ‘Little Henry’ is the dwarf version of Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ but it’s still by no means small. It easily reaches 1m in height here in Devon. Watch out for the evil Spring mollusc though..
Persicaria ‘Black Field’
I don’t know what I’d do without persicaria. ‘Black Field’ is the last of them to come into bloom but, the payback, it’s also the last to go. From just one plant it has spread into a significant drift of glorious weed suppressing colour right where I need it most.
Grevillea ‘Canberra Gem’
This gardener’s first grevillea. ‘Canberra Gem’ is reputedly the hardiest for a cool wet climate but that doesn’t appear to stop it feeling confused. Now is presumably the time it would be blooming in its native Australia. But in Devon? I shall be glued to the weather forecast for any sign of the much touted ‘Beast From The East 2’, coming shortly to a county near you if you reside in the UK. Allegedly. Although I have to admit it is now getting a tad chilly out there. When established ‘Canberra Gem’ should be hardy down to -5C. This is but a baby. It is appropriately nestled in a nursery bed ready to be forked up, dropped in a pot and whisked off into the greenhouse before Jack Frost can unfurl a single icy finger.
A painterly NoID Hydrangea, changing from pink to blue as it acclimatises to its new home in the woodland edge.
And it’s not just about the blooms, some hydrangeas display spectacular autumn leaf colour as well. This is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Wim’s Red’.
Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’
And let’s not forget the seedheads.
Phlomis russeliana will continue providing structure well into winter. Or at least it will until the first serious gale given that the gardener, in her infinite wisdom, chose to plonk it on the side of an exposed hill. Fortunately it spreads generously and is ready to divide. I shall offer it more consideration next time. Another job for the lengthening Spring list.
Things may be visibly winding down. But don’t look at it as the end of the gardening season. Think of it as the beginning of the next. A time of renewal for the garden and the gardener alike. Time to research and to plan, to make provision for seed sowing and planting as soon as the weather allows, for an even more spectacular garden by the time next summer comes around.
For me, this year especially, it makes absolute sense.
It is so good to see you able to concentrate on garden splendour as opposed to building disasters. The results are lovely. I particularly like the pastel portrait of the hydrangea.
It makes a welcome change for me as well. Back to the hard graft today, cleaning ceiling beams, and the aching neck to prove it.
That opening comment brought out the first – and loudest – guffaw of the day! And you still have leaves! Ours blew to Denmark! OK, there are still some. I do so want a short and fat acer though – that’s a beautiful plant indeed and I wouldn’t mind it if it was svelt either – those colours are definitely giving some beauty in the doom and gloom of the weather. I need a nice sheltered spot. Hmmmm – might be a tad difficult for the time being. Surely it has to stop soon – I’m either swimming or battling the winds to let the birds out. I’m also prone to exaggerate – except for the wind – that is a case of lean in and don’t fall over on your face if it drops suddenly. Outdoor chores are now done by looking at the radar and guessing as to when the next deluge will hit.
I also love the bonsai tree – with the faint spider web – all very delicate. There’s a lot of beauty in seed heads if you take the time to actually look closely at them. As for the weeds – I’m sure they are laughing at our frustration of not getting outside to deal with them. Last laugh for me – those that I manage to get to are then given to the ducks!
It’s been proper feather ruffling weather and now it’s getting cold.. the birds won’t want to come out at all. I’d love to have ducks, but the woods here are alive with foxes so it really wouldn’t be fair. For me or the ducks! I hope they gobble up a fair few slugs for you in exchange for all the weeds.
There’s been plenty of radar watching here too, I’m a great fan of it. So much more reliable than the forecast.
It is indeed the beginning of the next season. There is so much colour in this post, wonderful on these gloomy November days. Jack Frost has paid us many visits already, the first at the end of September, the earliest for us yet. Lovely to see pictures of your wonderful garden.
We may well see a frost before Saturday, which will be our first for the year. And also the earliest I’ve known it down here, if it happens. September though, that is a bit scary. The frosts I really hate are the late ones, in May, just as all the new leaves are starting to unfurl. We’ve had a few of those.
So true re the beginning of the next season and just the right time to allow for Christmas preparation and a bit of housework!
I really struggle with winter so this is the best way to think of it. The thing is all that research and planning and seed ordering really needs a comfy sofa in front of the fire and we’re not there yet!
We have gone from autumn directly into winter with snow and bitterly cold temps for this time of year. So I particularly enjoyed seeing your fall color and seedheads. But the bonsai is the winner. What a beauty and how happy it must be in its perfect home.
The only trouble with having the bonsai in the greenhouse is that the leaves emerge very early, earlier than I can put it outside to start hardening it off. It’s then condemned to a month or so shoved in a very shady corner somewhere otherwise those lovely new leaves scorch in the Spring sun.
I’ve used that title a few times too!. We have acre Ozakazuki and it needs pruning so I’ll bear in mind what you’ve said.
In future I think I will tackle it a little bit each year, rather than all in one go as was the case in January. It took weeks, months even, for the sap to stop oozing. I cut one branch out completely, down to the trunk and that was the worst one. A largish limb right at the bottom nearest the roots.
I love your “Emerald Lace” Acer – it’s so delicate. I wonder if it (or a relative) would survive outside here in zone 4.5. It’s definitely moved into winter here in Minnesota. We’ve had just a dusting of snow, but grey skies and cold winds are the norm now. We managed to get the last of the tulips planted by lining them out in the vegetable garden. This was not where I originally wanted them, but I also did NOT want to go digging around the roses in the cold to spread them artistically around. They are now my “cutting stock”.
I garden on 0.4 acre of flat former potato field, now mostly grass. This year we put in a new perennial bed in front of a lilac hedge. We had a lot (for us) of rain this summer, so everything got a really good start, and will only need a little re-arranging in spring. Salvias that were sold as growing to 2′ tall are more like 5′. Cleanup in the bed still needs to be done before we get snow, and then we hope for enough of it to protect everything without burying us!
Plants often grow taller for me here too than is suggested by the label and I’m sure it’s all the rain. I’ve never had much luck with salvias though and we’re the equivalent of your Zone 7. We very rarely have snow so I lack the cover from the frost. But it’s the combination of cold and rain that contributes to most of my winter casualties. There are few plants which relish being wet from October to April with the occasional freezing thrown in.
I’d have done exactly the same with the tulips! Not that they do well here either. Those that I have are mainly in containers so I can keep them sheltered from the worst of the rain.
Well the waterproofing on the roof at the back of the house has held up, no leaks so far and I agree with you that in Somerset we have had enough water to give it a thorough test. One of my inherited acers is still gloriously in leaf, my palmatum disectum is bald. One French window remains to be painted, I am waiting for the mythological dry period you get during late autumn.
Your garden seems to be surviving very well and still has colour to spare. I am trying to get some garlic in, I heard from GQT that tomato feed helps to stave off rust, which my garlic acquires at the drop of a hat. If I can find a wet suit I may try to get into the greenhouse and sort out some late geranium cuttings.
You will need a wet suit with a fur lining if you do it now. Fake fur of course.
Two days after taking the photos most of the acers have now lost their leaves. The colour was spectacular but over very quickly this year. Even the bonsai dropped the lot over the greenhouse floor in just one night so that’s something else for me to clear up. Still juggling with the heater to find the optimum setting. Tonight will be the first real test for that I think. I’ve gambled over rather than under, too many tender plants in there.
My Japanese maple is finally a visible size, but so daunting to prune right. It’s leafy, but not a good shape. Sigh
Mine was in a pot for too many years while we were in transit between houses, with its roots heavily restricted. In the end I had to smash the pot to get it out. I never really expected to get much of a shape out of it after that. It certainly took its time to recover and then sideways rather than up!
Beautiful! Nothing like autumn colour.
We have one large and bountiful acer and one which – for reasons known only to itself – has grown like a candelabra and produced leaves only along the top. Like candle flames, if one was being fanciful, or a weirdly flat-topped tree, if not.
Hi Deborah,
They do seem to have a mind of their own. I love acers and have planted several and they’re all growing in their own individual way. They’re supposed to prefer a bit of shade so I put most of them on the edge of woodland. But then of course they all grew in the direction of the light and all lopsided. You can’t win can you.
Your Japanese maples are gorgeous. I envy you the bright fall foliage colors – we get little, if any, of that. The persimmon leaves color up the best here, provided there are any left by the time it gets cold enough to prompt that change.
I hope the dehumidifiers do the job in drying your plaster. The plasterers are due here tomorrow to work on our fireplace, just as we exchange 2 weeks of single-digit humidity levels for a persistent bank of morning fog but oh well!
It has dropped to single digits temperature wise and with all the rain it’s pointless leaving all the doors and windows open as we did during the summer. It’s well known that lime plaster struggles to dry in such conditions so it’s an uphill struggle at the moment. We’ll get there eventually. Whether it’s this side of Christmas or not is another matter.
Looking at your stunning Acer palmatum ‘Ozakazuki’ I’m wondering if I can fit another Japanese Maple into our garden. Considering our dry climate, the Japanese Maples I have do very well in a protected spot (and I secretly give them more water than some). I am amazed that you have a Canberra Gem in your garden! We inherited a very large spiky Canberra Gem in our garden, many years ago, and we put up with being spiked when we walked near it, because we did get flowers for the birds all through the winter.
The garden is looking lovely.
Canberra Gem is my over optimism in full flow! It’s interesting to hear that it blooms in winter though. Perhaps mine is not as confused as I thought it was. But it really is a baby, only about a foot high. I shall have to protect it if it starts to turn seriously cold.
The Bonsai maple is amazing–to see the autumn colour change inside the greenhouse must give you double the pleasure. Lovely to see all your other autumn colour, too. Hoping that your garden (and the house plaster) gets a bit of a dry-out and that any storms lose their punch before they get to your neck of the woods. You two deserve a break.
Thanks Mary. I love the autumn colour but less so what follows it. And we’ve certainly had a taste of that this week. Of course if everything had gone to plan with the renovations we’d be done, dry and sitting in front of the woodburner tonight. Such is life.
Oh what wonderful plants and photos! It’s currently pissing down here which will delight one of our potted acers (Bloodgood – also intensely red Japanese maple) that seems to thrive in puddles of water rising to the top of its pot.
The maples do seem to appreciate the rain, I guess that’s why they do so well here too. It sounds like I need to add Bloodgood to the collection..
Such a wonderful post showing the Autumn glory of your plants, a burst of cheer.
I can absolutely confirm to all readers of this post that Rusty Duck most certainly ain’t short and wide! Petite m’dear!
And to top all the rain you spoke about, another shed full yesterday!
We must try and escape the showers and have coffee and cake at Rosemoor to check out their Autumn colours.
And you know that cake will go straight to our hips..
It does look nice, and even if it’s wet, wet, wet I do see a ray of sunshine in your one photo.
The greenhouse corner looks beautiful. So clean and empty except for the maple, I’m sure it will be a different story in no time at all!
I hope you get your cozy indoor corner near the fire soon. It’s about time and you deserve it… unless you opt out for the warm vacation again!
Torrington Tina can confirm it is all coming along nicely indoors but like all these projects in old houses it takes a while between stages. Will definitely be worth it in the end!
Thanks TT. Will it be a sofa for Christmas or the table in the greenhouse.. that is the question!
I had my back to the (already) packed to bursting at the seams part of the greenhouse. The table is a little oasis of calm amidst the green chaos.
Sadly no warm vacation this year. Even taking on board all that I’ve learned from you vis a vis creative accounting, there is only one way to look at it: the budget is spent!
Your maples are dazzling, both the path-encroacher and the mini. Here the fall color of acer leaves is brown–they just dry up. So there is advantage to some chill!
It is beautiful but fleeting. Three days later most of Ozakazuki was on the floor and all of the mini. I make the most of it while I can, especially in the good years like this one.
Lovely photos as always Rusty, such beautiful autumn colour. I empathise totally about the constant rain, summer seems a long way off already. Hope to see you very soon, that will cheer me up x
And Torrington Tina too!!
🙂
I hear we have a date.. looking forward to it hugely!!
I think a table in your lovely greenhouse with the view down to the stream will make a lovely Christmas lunch venue.
Thank you for the Acer palmatum Ozakazuki seeds, I will see what comes up.
In response to Kerry’s comments, I have an unnamed Acer palmatum that receives the full blast from all directions and is planted in alkaline and claggy soil. It seems to be thriving. That might have been the wrong thing to say but it did survive the Beast from the East last year.
I hope the seeds do well. We came back to find the tree a shadow of its former self with all but a few of the leaves now on the ground. And if it’s possible, the whole garden even soggier!
Spectacular autumn color, the Maples always seem to put on the best of shows !
Winter stopped by our house last night, and magically sprinkled the landscape with snow. A taste of what’s to come ….who knows.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful home.
~Jo
Hi Jo, lovely to hear from you!
There is snow on the weather radar here too now, very early indeed for us. But surely also early for Tennessee? It amazes me that you get snow at all so far south, but the climate is getting ever more unpredictable.
A thoughtful review of your wet wet wet garden, Jessica
A dry week ahead forecast, thank goodness. Perhaps at last I can get out there and do some clearing up. The rain and strong winds have certainly taken their toll.