Autumn garden notes

 Last April, the maple in our backyard was destroyed in an ice storm.  I loved its shade and we had done our best to tend to its health. Despite careful pruning by arborists, the tree was really struggling.

When it came down, the maple totalled the lower deck. Finally, after months of back and forth with the insurance, engineers, estimators and contractors, work has started on the rebuild. Six months! If it is done properly it will be worth the wait.

Last summer I held off any drastic changes to the back garden, not certain whether we'd get the go ahead. If we couldn't replace the deck, we'd have to rethink the entire bones - why have a winding path to nowhere?

Having the clearing in the backyard has opened up the sky, increased potential for more sun-loving plants, and helped create a feeling of lightness. There is still one corner of deep shade to retreat on the hottest of summer days.

The autumn crocus from Turkey planted last spring was a no show, and the autumn clematis I planted in early summer didn't thrive as I'd hoped.

The snakeroot has brightened the back corner with an abundance of white blossoms; the daphne has brought its scent and delicate ivory flowers right up to the end of October. There is a white rose in bud today, and I am hopeful it will be a late bloomer.

In red or deep crimson, there was coral bell, autumn sedum. Monkshood has finished blooming, it was almost a cornflower blue. The persicaria has been throwing purple plumes since September. It was so well-behaved in deep shade but has grown at an alarming rate, taking over the back corner and spilling down the hillside to such an extent I'm tempted to eradicate it from the garden entirely - and that's after trying to establish it for several years.

I love the nasturtiums, and they love all the sun they've been getting. Frost has not yet come and they are looking other-worldly, hiding bright petals under their broad leaves.

 


In the front yard, I spent a day or two transplanting. Moved the blood grass to where the euphorbia was, moved geraniums to where the sea holly had been, moved the sea holly behind the anemones.

The Japanese maples haven't yet turned their deep crimson colours. Last year there was no show, just a sudden deep freeze that turned the leaves brittle and brown almost overnight. We'll see what the late season may bring this year.