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.

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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.

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.

Late Summer Flowers in Vases

I wanted to share a late summer flower arrangement.  The goddess vase holds a late season foxglove, many asters, some spikey heather flowers and a few autumn joy sedum blossoms.  Sweet peas are in the mini-vase in front.

It is interesting to me that all of the flowers in this display are in the pink to purple hues.  Save some California poppies, that is what is blooming at this time.