The six today have little context, narrative, or horticultural information. This posting is offered merely as proof that a few plants made it through the impossibly dry and glaringly hot north-central Alabama summer. Folks can view more interesting photos and read more informative text on Jim Stephens’ site, Garden Ruminations. There are guidelines there for taking part in this weekly sharing of six garden “things” and links to follow from several international gardeners.
I’ll begin with two obviously recent additions to garden pots: yellow box-store chrysanthemums and white and purple pansies. Both were purchased to brighten up the front of the house and have been easy to keep watered through Alabama’s typically rain-free October.
Other bright color in the garden comes from a dependably re-blooming non-native azalea (Rhododendron indicum). This one is from a rooting from a 12-foot mother plant.
There is another dotting of bright color from two native winterberry hollies (Ilex verticillata). The photo below shows just how prolific one of the bushes is this year after I planted a male shrub very near by. He did a a magnificent pollinating job. Last year there were no berries on the pictured plant.
Another native is the red buckeye (Aesculus pavia), which I planted in 2005 from a buckeye given to me by Dan Porch, the County Extension Agent teaching my Master Gardening class. I think I can justifiably call it a small tree now. From its fruiting, I have many buckeyes to share with others this fall. The featured image from this post is from the same tree.
For my final offering I have an unquestionable tree, which I planted as well from a seedling in about 1992. The weather has been hard on it this year so it is not as full and bright as usual. Still, a ginkgo is a standout even when stressed. In the bottom left-hand corner is Xena, the chipmunk hunting, squirrel treeing Aussiedoodle. She gives a good sense of the scale of the tree.
Everything else is leaves now. Maybe in a few weeks something will emerge or begin to bud. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys gentle weather.
My question is how did you know it was a male wintervberry. I bought a pair of winterberries some years ago but the male died.
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Ah! That’s an easy question. I told Jason from Petals of the Past in Jemison that I needed a male. I had hoped the year before that I had other hollies close enough to pollinate the female, but it was not so. So, I got a male and another female plant from Jason, planted them close together, and this year I have beautiful berries.
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Ah yes! Jason Powell is the answer. I need a road trip.
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