Butterfly Weed

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life. The rich colours of grass and earth were intensified by the mellow light of a sun almost warm enough for spring... ~P.D. James, A Taste for Death

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on picture to see
larger.

Last year's butterfly weed

This year's butterfly weed

 We were gone from home for about 2 weeks, leaving plants unattended.  I fretted over this years butterfly weed the whole time.  It had lost all its leaves earlier in the year and with temperatures in the 90's and no rain the whole 2 weeks, I was concerned it would die.

Surprisingly, it is a beautiful plant and getting ready to bloom.
The flowers on this plant are all yellow.  Last year's plant is multi colored orange and yellow.

This is a good sign that it will make it through the winter.
This winter is forecast to be dry and not too cold.

Not good for wintering plants.

I have to comment again on the practicality of the black
pound in edging from Gardeners Supply catalog.  I have done this several times with this
edging. Making a sort of "pot" to hold water. Once it looks
settled, I will remove the edging.

I have another "pot" with a plant that I set out before we
left for our trip.  I forgot all about it.  Then, on closer
inspection, I remembered planting "something".
I watered it thoroughly and will watch for more leaves.
If we have a mild winter, I may actually figure out what
it is.

One last remark about the edging.  This picture
is of the only piece of edging to break. It still
comes in handy.

 

 I love garden surprises!  This is the Hyacinth Bean Vine.  I had attempted to grow this vine over my
metal arbor.  It never bloomed.  Plenty of leaves, no flowers.  I finally cut it all down.
Today, I was cleaning out this area and noticed the leaves first. Then the blossoms.  I don't even
remember planting seeds here.

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

Fall! Finally!

 No spring nor summer’s beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face....
~John Donne, "Elegy IX: The Autumnal"

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Finally, cooler weather.   It may be in the 80's but nights are cooler.  I have peeked out from the summer doldrums and can smile again at the garden ruins.
Actually, this transformation mood wise has been sneaking up on me for a week or more with cooler nights and even one chilly day.
I am not even to be done in by the ragweed.  That pest problem will end when it freezes. So, I am resigned to daytime, non drowsy antihistamines.

I have been searching for several days for the Horse apple, Osage Orange, Hedge  Apple, Bois d'arc, bodark....ironwood (whatever) and hubby remembered seeing "a few" on a back road.  After confusing directions, a bit of sniping back and forth, found em.  This morning, I gathered several laundry baskets full of the lovely lime green balls. I have gathered them for several falls now and nearly missed this year.

The plan is to  fill several containers for color spots in ravaged gardens.  I have had a bunch on the porch for several years and enjoy them very much. They only cost a bit of gas to fill containers and thus don't mind them going bad and discarding.  I hate like anything to buy plants for pots that mostly die at the sight of frost.

Here is a link to more information; https://www.dirtdoctor.com/garden/Horse-Apples-Bois-d-arc-fruit_vq537.htm


Another project in various stages of completion is the patches of garden I have cleared and am going to sow wildflower seeds and then hope nature won't mess up.  Here in north Texas (zone  8a) we can go from a week of temperatures in the mid to high 60's to a week of sunny 90's.

Rocks gathered from all over the yard and gardens area making a division between wild and path.

Nearly cleared. The space doesn't look so large from this angle.  It seemed huge when trying to clear weeds, grass and gravel.

This space used to be the high light of the gardens. This year, not so much. Finally ended up being the gathering place for stray pots, containers, tools and a determined watermelon and cantaloupe vine tangle that insists on creeping out of bordered area and reaching for the whole garden.  I was tempted to let them go and see just how far they would wander. I dumped rinds here for butterflies. They flock to the sweet meat.

Autumn repays the earth the leaves which summer lent it. ~Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–1799), translated by

Norman Alliston, 1908

 Another idea from my newest obsession, Pintrest.  The creative minds out there is staggering to think about. Makes me wish I was still in my energetic 40's.
We have pine trees that drop cones in fall and a pain to rake up before hubby mows over them, leaving mangled cones to step on unsuspectingly while wandering the yard in the early AM.

I put pine cones in planters and containers to winter over so pots don't look so empty... Thought that was pretty creative. Never got around to tucking an odd tree ornament in them or, better yet, the ubiquitous tiny white lights.

Now, I find creative painting of these things, from dipping in a can of enamel to spray paint to carefully painting with craft paint petal by petal.  Ideas are endless.

These are painted with left over spray paint.  Obviously, a little cleaning and brushing should be done first.
 The best place to get an idea of painting pine cones is to go to Google home page and next to the gmail in right hand corner. Click on image and then type in diy painted pine cones.

Orange paint for experiment in discouraging aphids. Failure

Pink paint used on garden hand tool handles

Notice the devices for elevating cones to have better access and cleaner fingers

This is only a sample of what can be done.  If you cut off tip back to an inch or 2 from base, perfect zinnia type flower.  Some folks just clip off the scales and leave the center stalk thingy.
If you are lucky, you might find cones that have spread their scales and can make a rose.

Hmmmmm, I wonder what painted horse apples would look like?