Autumn Joy

Fall has fell here.
We’ve had four days of rain.
Flowers and vegies are
starting to undergo
their seasonal changes.

Autumn Joy sedum gives a
stellar show in the garden.

Over time
(about a month)
the flowers change
from pale pink
to a dark maroon.

On the far left of the photo
are some pale pink flowers.
Deer have trimmed stems outside of the fence,
and the young growth blooms as it would
earlier in the season.

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Autumn Joy Sedum

Autumn Joy can show a different hue almost every day.

As the flowers mature, they evolve from the palest pink to a deep maroon.

Very showy and easy care.

Since deer will nibble freely, it lives behind a fence.

It has multiplied and been divided, so now I can share with a friend.

The flowers are not finished, yet.  I was just eager to post and share.

Autumn Wildflower

Along the driveway, where I often walk, I saw a flower I had not noticed before.  We are in the midst of a drought.  The grass is brown and very dry at the end of summer.  These tiny blossoms would be easy to overlook, as the soft yellow blends in with the muted colors of its surroundings.

Since I have been writing this blog, I have become more aware of mother nature at home.  Documenting my observations, I have a record of what time of year a particular flower emerges.  Also, what color of a particular flower will bloom before other colors.  Memory is weak, writing is strong.  I am not the only victim, it is human not to remember all the details one wants to remember.

Autumn Crocus

Technical name for this beauty is colchicum which is in the lily family
It has no relation to crocus, in the iris family.
* * * * *

Above, the buds are emerging from the ground in the same hole as their dead leaves did last spring.
There should be 3 to 4 times as many flowers as I see this year, because there were that many leaves a few months ago.  Perhaps this summer was too hot for the bulbs.  I understood these bulbs can take full sun, but apparently, I was mistaken.

First Sign of Autumn – A Little Early to Me

This morning, I noticed the first red leaf on Eonymus ‘Chicago Fire’.
It’s leaves change color way early in the summer, but now I am actually documenting just how early.

Out of curiosity, I googled this plant, and found no information on how early the leaves turn colors.  But I did learn that it is supposed to be deer-resistant.  Therefore, this winter it will be moved outside the fenced-in area.
Now I would like to find a flowering vine to climb the fence.  It is a particularly sunny area, that has honeysuckle farther down the same fence.
Any suggestions?

Spirea in late Autumn

From the corner of my kitchen window, this plant looks to me like it is on fire.
Or it makes me think it is a large funny hat in the yard.
I had forgotten that this shrub can be so colorful in the fall.  In summer, it is an ordinary green, that merely blends into the landscape.

Deer keep the lower branches nibbled to the fence that surrounds this bush.  Surprisingly, the deer don’t bother to eat what is not at a convenient level for them.  Unless they get very hungry, when we have seen, usually an old doe, stand on her hind legs to get a morsel of food.

Late Season Autumn Joy Sedum

When I first typed up Autumn Joy Sedum for a blog page, I cut one flower stem and put it into the vase above.  The surprise for me, is that the flower is still the same light pink two weeks later.  I did put a small amount of water in the vase, and because of the small opening at the top of the vase, evaporation is a minimum.

While tidying up a flower bed over the weekend, I found a stem of Sea Lavender, on a transplanted baby plant, that had escaped my previous notice.  The two flowers do complement each other, I think.

This morning, after I photographed the flowers in the above vase, I went outside to see what the Autumn Joy looked like within the garden fence.  The maroon-rust of the flowers shows them maturing towards their final color. Some of the flowers appear paler, but do not be fooled, it is only the bright sunlight.  The long-blooming time, and very gradual color change are two of this sedum’s assets.

Japanese Maple on the First Day of Autumn

Actually, autumn began at 7:30 pm last night, but today is the first day of the new season.  The color change of the leaves is very subtle, as it is just beginning, in this tree.   If you look on the upper left side, you can notice the leaves getting lighter, as they lose the deep red color they had all summer long.

Yes, that is a four foot high (122 cm) deer fence around the tree trunk.  Although the tree appears to be tall enough that the deer cannot decimate its foliage, I will not even attempt to remove the fence until spring.  There is barely enough forage for the deer at this time of year, and I have seen hungry animals stand on their hind feet to eat whatever they can.

Autumn Joy – Sedum – Turtle Vase

These snapshots show the progressive change of color of this outstanding landscape plant.  (I see the photos are posted in reverse order.)  While many sedums are groundcovers, Autumn Joy easily grows to 18 inches tall.  The above pictures cover the gradual darkening of this plant’s flowers.  They were taken over the course of a month, and the flowers will keep on getting darker for another few weeks.

I recently saw a line of about 20 barrels of these flowers decorating the entry to Maryhill Winery in Washington State on the Columbia Gorge.  They were still in the early stage of color development, and would look handsome for another month or so.

The bud in the Turtle Vase is still in the early stages of color change, as the stem was nipped by deer, earlier in its development.  (If you look close, you can see the darkening of the stem cut near the top flower.)  My plant is next to a fence, and the natives keep it pruned.

This porcelain vase is made by me in my ‘other life’.  A turtle is carved into the opening, and the piece was fired in my wood and gas fueled kiln.  The orange-peel texture seen on the vase shoulders is from soda introduced into the kiln near the end of the firing.

Euonymous – Chicago Fire

This is another gem my husband brought home one day.  He wanted to fill an empty corner.  It is not early to get it’s leaves, and they are ready to drop off any day now, and it is only mid-September.  You are looking at the annual exhibit of the high point of its life.  Although the leaves appear very autumn red and colorful right now, they are a boring green the rest of the year.

We’ve been discussing replacing this plant, or just moving it to another location.  If I could find a flowering vine type of plant to climb the fence, euonymous would have to find a new home immediately.  It now inhabits prime real estate inside the deer fence, with irrigation and excellent sun reception.  Ooh, I’m starting to think a vine-type rose; a scented rose would sure be nice to walk by …