What a Difference a Day Makes

We've had some lovely weather this week, and I've been doing some tidy up in the garden - pulling out the finished zinnias, trying my hardest to get rid of the bermuda grass and nutsedge.  This resulted in two rather empty island beds, so I headed to Plants for All Seasons to get some winter color.

These little violas will last from now until spring and will brighten an otherwise drab garden through the winter.

They spread a bit, so I spaced them out and had enough for both island beds, the containers by the bird bath and the raised bed by the trellis on the back wall.

Skip forward to this morning and I awoke to hear the drumming of rain on the roof and the sounds of the water barrel overflowing.

As always happens when we get a heavy rain, the garden flooded.  We keep meaning to get something done about it, but the water usually drains after an hour or so, provided it stops raining.

But what's that I see behind the bird bath?  

Yes, the Angel Trumpet that offered one bloom after a rain storm at the end of October (see my post here) is literally covered in blooms!

Now the rain has passed and the sun is shining again.  Here's a photo of the Angel Trumpet in the afternoon sunshine.

It's bright and sunny outside, but very blowy, so I hope this doesn't get blown over.  That would be a disaster!

I noticed earlier when I was re-positioning it to make it more stable on the sodden earth, that the pot is starting to crack so I'll need to replant it eventually.  I'd like to find somewhere to put it in the ground, but everywhere seems to be a battle of roots.  I'll have to give it some thought and decide where would be the best place for it.


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

A Walk in The Woods

Since I'm, shall we say, "between jobs" at present, and since the weather has been absolutely glorious this week (apart from a torrential downpour on Tuesday, I decided to go for a walk through Kleb Woods and take advantage of being able to be outside enjoying the weather on a week day!

I'm sure I have written about Kleb Woods before, it's one of my favorite places.  We are so lucky to have it close by.

The trails are easy so I headed off, looking for the marsh and bird blind I had visited before.  After swatting at mosquitoes for about half an hour, and not finding the bird blind -- note to management... more signage on that side of the woods would be a help -- I headed back over to the more familiar Nature Center and spent an hour walking around there, watching birds and other critters.

I know many people consider squirrels a nuisance, especially in  the garden, but I find them delightful.  We used to get a lot in our garden, when we were surrounded by trees.  Perhaps we will again one day as the trees in the neighborhood grow and mature.  I hope so.  I miss the lil guys.

The area around the nature center is always inspiration for my own wildlife garden.   Their Hamelia Patens is shoulder tall in summer (unlike mine, which didn't get over a foot tall this year) and I'd like to know what they are feeding this Turk's Cap. It's humongous!! (Although to be fair, this is two plants) 

I don't know if they ever open up the house to visitors, but you can look in the windows and see it's furnished and decorated as it was when Elmer Kleb lived here.

The story of Elmer Kleb and how the Nature Preserve came to be is quite intriguing.  You can read more about it here.

As I was getting ready to leave, I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye and was delighted to see this grey fox (at least I think that's what it is)

He let me get quite close and take some photos before he trotted off into the brush.

All in all, a very enjoyable afternoon in the woods.  I'm looking forward to doing it again soon.

Linking this post with Camera Critters today.




Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

November in the Garden

When I lived in England, I was always accustomed to seeing butterflies floating about the garden in June, July and August.

In fact I remember earlier this year, being rather despondent at the lack of butterflies in the garden.

I should have remembered that our prime butterfly month is October, and often in to November and beyond.

The garden was ready for them too -- the Vitex, which has bloomed only sporadically all summer, now has quite a few lovely sprays of booms on it.  Just in time to feed this hungry visitor.

We still have some blooms on the tropical milkweed too, but in most cases, the leaves have been eaten by voracious caterpillars.

This photo was actually taken several days ago.  When I went back out to see how he was doing, there was no sign of him.  Then later in the day, I sat down on the patio and noticed this underneath the small table on the patio.

Is it him?  I'll never know, but I'm looking forward to keeping a close eye on it while it goes through its transformation.

And elsewhere around the garden, the milkweed is making preparations for next year.

The brush pile in the utility corner was getting out of hand, so I knew I first needed to tackle the compost bin, which has been more or less ignored most of the year, with the exception of the occasional "stir".

I wasn't sure how much, if any, good compost we would have but was very pleasantly surprised to find the bottom half of the bin filled with dark, moist, rich compost.

I dug out several inches worth and added it to the vegetable beds, in readiness for next year.  Then I got out the "Yard Butler" and mixed up what remained in there and encouraged it to move down ground level to replace what I had just removed.

This provided a few inches of space at the top, so I was able to spend a happy afternoon using our chipper/shredder to shred spent annuals, shrub and tree trimmings and leaves.

There is still some work to be done on the brush pile (while still leaving some to shelter the local wildlife) but it's been steadily raining all day today, so I won't be shredding anything until it dries out.


Maybe next week....


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Quotations for Autumn Gardens

It's been a gloomy, wet dreary day today -- quite appropriate for the first day of November but not conducive to getting out and working in the garden.

So instead I've been sitting indoors reading, doing crossword puzzles, and trying to decide what to blog about today. I have mentioned in my blog before that I enjoy collecting quotations, especially those about gardening and the seasons. It seems that other people are far more eloquent than I on the subject, so I'm going to include some in today's post.

Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin.... We anxiously anticipate it every year.
~~ Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer, October 2010

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.
~~ Jim Bishop

...I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. So I have spent almost all the daylight hours in the open air.
~~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, 10th October 1842

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came,—
The Ashes, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And every thing was grand;
Miss Weather led the dancing;
Professor Wind, the band....
The sight was like a rainbow
New-fallen from the sky....
~~ George Cooper (1840–1927), "October's Party," c.1887

Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees.
~~ Faith Baldwin, American Family

It is a delightful pastime to sit in the pleasant sunshine of autumn, and gazing from this little spot of free earth over such a landscape, let the imagination luxuriate amid the thrilling associations of the scene!
~~ H.T. Tuckerman, "San Marino"

'Tis Autumn! and the short'ning day,
The chilly evening's sober gray,
And winds that hoarser blow;
The fading foliage of the trees,
Which rustles sere in every breeze,
The approach of Winter show.
~~ Bernard Barton, "Stanzas on the Approach of Winter" 1822

Of all the seasons, autumn offers the most to man and requires the least of him.
~~Hal Borland

Just after the death of the flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season,
When nature is all aglow—
Aglow with a mystical spendour
That rivals the brightness of spring,
Aglow with a beauty more tender
Than aught which fair summer could bring....
~~Emeline B. Smith, "Indian Summer"

I walked alone in the depths of Autumn woods;
The ruthless winds had left the maple bare;
The fern was withered, and the sweetbrier's breath
No longer gave its fragrance to the air.
~~Albert Laighton (1829–1887), "In the Woods," c.1859


For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.
~Edwin Way Teale, Autumn Across America



If you're wondering where the lovely animated gifs came from, I found them on a Russian website at http://www.gifprikol.com. And before you ask -- no, I can't read Russian, but since the website provides the code to copy and paste in to your blog, or on Facebook, I'm assuming it's okay to share them, with the appropriate link!!