Where do I even begin to pick up where I left off...

bad garden blogger...BAD GARDEN BLOGGER!!!   Ugggggghhhhh....

I guess I could say, in my defense, that I was actually gardening and not sitting on my ass blogging about every event that's garden/plant/flower related. The problem is, just about every aspect of my life is related to plants, flowers and garden and I can't even begin to choose what to share.

Plus, I've also just been so overwhelmed with work. It is FALL after all! Clean up is endless and preparations for the winter, plus TEACHING; the weeks go by so fast and, olly crap, it's almost NOVEMBER!!!

So, here's are some events that took place over the past month. Why don't YOU choose which topic I should do a full blog post on:

-My cousin Jocelyn got married (yes, another wedding, but I didn't do the flowers this time, but there's still something plant related that's cheesy and hilarious)

-A wedding also means a little family reunion. I had cousins stay with me and see my garden which included grapes my grandfather planted that ripened just in time.

-Just got back from my first ever trip to the Northeast hitting up New York City, New Jersey, and the Philadelphia area to visit family, friends, and, of course, GARDENS! I'm sure there will be a post on this no matter what. Hahaha...it was pretty incredible!

-Finished my design for my show garden for the 2013 Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

-Filmed the second episode of the "Next Generation Gardener"  (currently being produced and edited!)

-Presented my first talk called "Travels of a Garden Foodie" to a local garden club.

-Started teaching a class on Nursery and Greenhouse Production at Edmonds Community College. 

-Landwave Gardens in the fall is always a treat as the landscape really lights up.

-It's that time of year where I'm preparing for the winter and digging, dividing, and transplanting all sorts of plants.

I'm sure this isn't all of it, but take your pick(s) and I'll get another post up.


R

Annual Container's last hurrah!!

So this was the result of trying to spruce up our surroundings over the summer and now they're as full as can be as the autumn color from the Oregon ash trees in the background set it off well.

As extravagant as this looks, it's actually really easy to put together and maintain. Think of this idea in a tough spot underneath a tree for next season. Rely on foliage and texture: flowers are just icing on the cake.

Riz

Autumn at the Arboretum

Fall color in its full splendor. It was just a few weeks ago that I wrote about the lack of color up in the mountains, but with snow expected up there soon, I'm sure things colored up well, but here in the lowlands, the show has been quite spectacular.

Check out a recent visit to Washington Park Arboretum and the wonderful display we were treated to.


After a staff meeting, our hort supervisor, David Zuckerman, lead us on a tour of the Woodland Garden.


The absolute standout was the intense coloration of Fothergilla major. All throughout the plant was this kaleidoscope of warm colors at different intensities. Each year, it's always this brilliantly colored and can be seen from quite a distance! Next to the Fothergilla is another one of my favorite landscape plants that will exhibit its autumn colors in just a few days. This is Hydgrangea quercifolia, the Oak Leaf Hydrangea! Below

Further down the path, we encountered the stunning fine texture of this Acer dissectum cultivar that lit up the woodland garden as the sun that day made an attempt to show itself that afternoon.



Close by in the winter garden, the Hamamelis, or Chinese witch hazels, were coloring up quite well also:



Can't share fall color with some bark action and these Chinese Paper Birches (Betula albo-sinensis var. septentrionalis) were simply outstanding!




Then, we looped around and captured a view that I've never seen before in all the years of visiting the Arboretum. It was such a treat to witness this with my co-horts and appreciate one of the reasons why we love what we do!



R

Weekend California Vacation

I went down to LA for an extended weekend to kick it with my family and see one of my cousin's tie the knot. It's been probably almost 10 years since I've been in the LA area and it was surprisingly chilly, especially at night, but the landscape there was just as I had expected.



Seeing bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) all around was captivating and I've regained my love for Phormium as I've been so fed up with their unreliability as a perennial here in the Pacific Northwest.


Aloes and other desert plants are simply amazing. These were in full peak bloom and required a reminder from my uncle to hustle or else we'd miss our flight back to Seattle.


Checking out the Hollywood Hills was pretty awesome (though I was kind of disappointed at how small the Hollywood sign was). Dodging the bright sun and the view of downtown LA covered in smog, I looked down and admired these variegated Agaves on the slope of the Observatory.



My uncle's house, blocks from Sunset Boulevard, yielded some wonderful fruit trees in his back yard. A deliciously crisp and sweet pear (didn't think they would grow in a warm mild climate) and a fruit from our childhood, the tart and tangy Guava.



Call me silly, but I was so impressed with the number of citrus trees people had down there. I was so excited to see them with so much fruit, I started taking so many photos, but the one I selected is of my aunt who went after a tangelo in my other aunt's yard!


One of my most favorite images of the entire trip, with the exception of a hottie I couldn't keep my eyes off of during the wedding reception hee hee, was the red edged Crassula aka Jade Plant! Yes, they're very common, but seeing hedges of these things is remarkable to me and when the light hits them, they just glow and command attention.


I've been on such a Schefflera kick lately, these totally caught my eye. Someone on my Flickr page identified it as S. pueckleri or Tupidanthus calyptratus. It seems to be fairly common around the LA area. This photo was taken in Long Beach.


FALL COLOR?? I was a little surprised that warm, mild climates produce fall color in plants. I guess if it's naturally deciduous, it still picks up on day length and temperature drop in order for those pigments to be expressed. Tree's gotta lose it leaves, right?? This is a Sweet Gum, btw (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Fall Favorites

I threw this arrangement together a few weeks ago when some of my fall perennial favorites were looking their best.



This fall arrangement includes: Chrysanthemum 'Apricot', Symphyotrichum 'Lady in Black', Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Panicum 'Northwind".

Showing a little Husky Pride

So, I work out at the UW's Intramural Activities Building (often dubbed as the "IMA") and each fall, I look forward to the new crop of young college hotties and the abundant fruit and fabulous color effect on a large scale planting of beautyberry!



Whoever planned and designed this planting scheme is quite clever as very few plants can ever match a school's colors so effectively (in this case, purple and gold)!!



This is Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion'
. Readily available and popular at nurseries at this time of year because of plantings such as this at the UW. They are easily grow in most well-drained soils in full sun or part shade and are perfectly hardy and suited for our area.