Late September is a keep on keeping on time for us. The gardens are still puffing away practically under their own steam and we won’t start pulling the brakes until after the house closes (Columbus Day weekend). Now’s the time for noticing.

Gail looked up in the Bosquet and noticed a bouquet. Mushrooms on a tree (in this case a Norway maple - Acer platanoides) are, unfortunately not a sign of health…

I noticed this praying mantis noticing me. (and I can’t seem to not take a picture when I spot one!)

This swallowtail caterpillar noticed only the carrot greens.

The Moongate Sophora is so laden with seedpods that if you don’t take notice, it will bean you.

One of the Rockettes noticed a praying mantis egg case in the False indigo (Baptisia australis). - Why do they choose plants we cut back?

Kari also noticed green tipped, spooned petal mutations on some Zinnia Profusion Double Pink in the North Garden. (She thinks we ought to have it patented and market it as the Blithewold Zinnia - it is that cool!)

I noticed how a Rudbeckia was deadheaded. — The first gardening job I ever had, I was given little instruction and free run on the grounds of a small school in CA. In order to fly under the radar of my boss (a tiresome and rather fatuous bump) I taught myself fairy-like subtlety and elfish stealth. — I was worried enough about doing the wrong thing that I made sure that what I did, didn’t show. Turns out, when it comes to deadheading, that’s a good thing to do! Rather than pop a deadhead off leaving a bare stick flagpole above the leaves, it’s less noticeable to make the cut at a leaf or better yet, a new bud. I like to look around the garden and see where I’ve been without being able to see where I’ve been!

What’s noticeable to you?

I can’t imagine being the kind of person who already knows it all. I spend almost every moment trying to catch up - if I’m not finding something new to know, I’m quizzing myself on what I thought I knew and being schooled again on what I’ve already forgotten. I opened my eyes in the Rock Garden this morning and saw Toad lilies (Tricyrtis hirta) that I don’t ever remember noticing there before. As a matter of fact, I read a post about them recently (can’t remember where … whoever wrote it, please send a comment and I’ll plant a link! -click here and here) and I thought (or maybe even said in a comment?) “I wonder why we don’t we have those? - Gotta put them on the list…” A new (old?) path has opened up in my brain!

And how could I forget Thistle (Onopordum acanthium) - an outstanding biennial - in the Idea Beds? (oops! Gail took one look and said “but it’s not a thistle! - It’s an artichoke.” duh. !) It took a monarch to remind me.

Speaking of biennials (plants which grow leafy the first season then bloom, set seed and die in their second season), I’ve learned a good trick for more-blooms-no-waiting. We appropriated some foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) seedlings to flower in the North Garden and Cutting Garden next year: In July we sowed seeds from the Dry Shade Bed foxglove and dug seedlings from around other mother plants by the Summer House. We grew the babies on in the greenhouse and planted most of them out in the Cutting Garden yesterday. Gail chose Cutting Garden beds with good winter drainage and we’ll move any survivors from there into new locations next spring. We’ll also plant some in the North Garden in a few weeks when we remove and divide some of the Phlox. With any luck we’ll have flowers and new biennial banks to draw from next year.

Diane, one of the Florabundas, is learning something new today too. DJ Garrity, Mt. Rushmore artist in residence, is teaching Diane and a few others how to carve stone. Over the next couple of days Diane will release the person she sees inside her block of marble (Move over Rodin!).

And what did you learn today? (By any chance, have you learned what this vining weed is??)

It’s hard to compete with a street fair, a Touch-a-Truck (”some had air horns!” said one kiddo I know), a nearby harvest festival with do-it-yourself scarecrows, a working waterfront festival a few towns over and a gorgeous warm breezy sunny day that made being out on the water requisite for anyone with access to a boat — BUT Blithewold’s Fall Gardener’s Day was where the gardeners were. I was hoping to meet fellow bloggers and readers but alas you attended incognito and in spirit - those who were here must have caught my shy bug — it’s going around… I was even going to take a guess-who shoe portrait! (If you look really closely, you can see the hazy outlines of at least a dozen pairs of feet who were nearly here - and guess who?!)

Most of my day I bounced from the Blithewold plant sale table (where I was camped to sell begonias, clivias, figs and other greenhouse babies) to the other vendors’ booths where I spent considerably more than I earned that day! I caught snippets of lectures and eavesdropped on rave reviews. By the sound of it Andrew Grossman had everyone rethinking their garden design, Lisa Gibson McMahon sent everyone home with beyond-frost salad starts and Barney Webster spawned a few water gardener wanna-bees. And everyone learned something new from flower drying and arranging, fall container planting, and pruning, to what will change for gardeners as the climate changes.

Just because Fall Gardener’s Day is behind us (and ahead - mark your 2008 calendar) doesn’t mean we’re done showing off the garden - the kaleidoscope continues! And Jake (who answers to many other names) has appointed himself cutest greeter - can you stand it?!

Chilly (almost) fall mornings have been so misty dewy lately that I get soaked to my shins just walking across the lawn. Can’t beat the quality of the light though and my morning ramble is worth every wet footed minute of the day!

As a little teaser for those who can make it to Fall Gardener’s Day tomorrow and for those who can’t, here are a few tastes of the property from my walk this morning.

Per Bright’s request, a full body shot of the pitcher plants with my pruners in for scale (Sarracenia leucophylla ‘Tarnok’, S. ‘Scarlett Belle’, and S. purpurea)

A seed pod forming on Asclepias physocarpa ‘Oscar’ (a.k.a. hairy balls - go figure).

An Aeonium in one of the new Display Garden beds - even though this isn’t at its most beautiful (it is a knockout during the winter in the greenhouse), it’s plenty gorgeous!

Near the Aeonium the stinky coleus (Coleus canina ‘Sumcol’) is budded up. This is a “touch me” plant that will leave you with a lingering eau d’ skunk. (pepe le pew! - but of course it’s one of my favorites)

I’m hoping some of my fellow bloggers and blog readers will introduce themselves to me tomorrow. On Wednesday I had the great pleasure of meeting Caroline Brown author of Earth Friendly Gardening. I’ve been enjoying her blog since before I started writing this one and I can’t wait to read what she has to say about her visit! (No pressure, Caroline!)

See some of you tomorrow and the rest of you on Monday! Happy (almost) Fall!

Yesterday’s fog cloud lifted just in time. (I suspect helpful fairies.) Long shadows, golden brights and dulcet tunes on guitar and mandolin were the stage set, backdrop and surround sound for a gorgeous evening Soiree in the Display Garden - the final one for this season (stay tuned for next year’s Soiree listings). Italian wines and cheeses were a perfect complement for a positively Tuscan light (it’s what I imagine anyhow…) and an exhuberantly abundant fall garden.

Gail and Julie and I answered questions about the gardens but the buzz on everyone’s lips was the Fairy Houses. It was the best thing to see otherwise elegant and sophisticated grown-ups go in search of a little playful magic! (Fairies are everywhere!)

In Soiree preparation we moved new combinations into the Idea Beds (placing a beautiful potted plant in a daylily hole can make the whole garden seem new again), tidied Gus-Gus’ pond, raked paths and deadheaded with the Deadheads and fine tuned with the Rockettes. Good luck follows Katherine, one of the Deadheads, who was paid the highest compliment from one of the garden’s sprites! (Magic is all around us!)

The feeling of last night lingered in the garden this morning and it looks for all the (enchanted) world like the conversations continue.

Fairies need decent affordable housing too! Yesterday a group of dedicated and skilled laborers built a new fairy community on a Blithewold subdivision. The houses were constructed of green material and fit beautifully into the landscape - this was a very environmentally conscious endeavor! I took a walk down this morning to see how the fairies were settling in but oaf that I am, I must have frightened them because the place was fairyly deserted. I didn’t think they’d mind though if I took a little look around…

Looks like I disturbed breakfast… Sorry!

Clap your hands if you believe! (and don’t you all just want to go right out and build a new house for your resident fairy?!)

To see more pictures of Fairy Magic in the Garden and the building crew at the constuction site click here!  (photos of the kids with their houses by Gail Read)

At the end of August I swivelled around the garden trying madly to take pictures of all the dozens of hummingbirds. Two weeks later it’s the monarchs distracting me from my work. They’re like a pure fall color concentrate or tiny drunk polka-dot fairies - completely captivating either way. (speaking of fairies - something tells me they’re going to be busy this weekend…)

So in honor of Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day (a day early to the party) here’s what’s blooming with a particular focus (and soft focus) on what the monarchs like.

When I could drag myself away from the butterflies, I found Autumn crocus (Colchicum) at the Bosquet entrance,

Begonia grandis in the Rock Garden,

Seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides) near the wedding tent,

and on the Cutting Garden fence, Clematis ‘Roguchi’ is still blooming - I think it should get the “employee of the year” award for being super productive (it will take a vacation finally come winter), efficient (the plant blooms away without growing out of bounds), and for having a terrific attention to detail (just look at that beautiful blue!).

(hover over pictures for names/titles and click on for larger images)

It rained!! I found a link via Cold Climate Gardening to the U.S. Drought Monitor which shows most of Rhode Island in a moderate drought as of 7:00 AM Tuesday. That’s the day it finally rained and we got a whole 2″ almost! I know it’s only a dent - a drop in the proverbial bucket - but there’s a little water in the pond again and background music of lawn mowers. (It’s amazing how fast the grass grows with a little torrential encouragement.) We’re all dancing jigs here so happy to have a day or two off watering! (Plus it’s important to keep doing the rain dance.) We’ll have to check the drought website again once they get the rainy day data posted…

Gail and I have been waiting months for a rainy day to weed and clean the greenhouse. We’ll start moving back in mid October and with the Display Garden Soiree coming up next Wednesday and Gardener’s Day next Saturday, we really needed a chance to get in there - when it wasn’t 100 degrees inside. Besides the Kenilworth ivy (Cymbalaria muralis), the greenhouse floor was (still is for some) home to a self seeded Four O’clock (Mirabilis jalapa),

a few Geranium madrense,

Some Begonia grandis and even a couple of baby prostrate rosemaries (Rosemarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’). (It’s amazing what will grow in crushed rock.) We didn’t have the heart to weed out everybody but the benches are clean, the floor is raked and we ready for company!

Ornamental grasses are coming into their own just now and it’s time to sing some praises (and maybe one dirge). There are reviews here and here with links to more and more about all kinds of grasses in all kinds of places so I’m setting a self imposed limit to speak only about our annuals/tender perennials.

I’ve already shown pictures of everyone’s new favorite this year, Pink paintbrush grass (Melinis nerviglumis ‘Savannah’). We don’t know yet if we’ll find it seeded all over the garden but since we want it pretty much everywhere next year, that wouldn’t be a totally unwelcome thing.

This is our second year for Love grass (Eragrostis tef ‘Ruby Silk’) and I take the blame for this one. I -and the wildlife- love the silky soft inflorescences that begin red and extend to brown. I think it’s handsome, if delicate, in arrangements and deadheading it satisfies the obsessive-compulsive in me. But the plants slouch like bored teenagers. If they weren’t planted en masse and held captive and upright in a Cutting Garden grid, we’d probably have to kick them out of the house for looking like weedy slackers. (Get a job!)
Palm grass (Setaria palmifolia) is another that we use in arrangements although it’s a bit of a pain because the blades are deceptively covered in eensy splintery hairs that lodge in all uncalloused finger flesh. (Where are my gloves?) We keep a couple of stock plants in the greenhouse and have been successful growing it from seed. (It usually flowers for us in the winter after we’ve cut the bulk of the plant to nubs.)
Ornamental millet (Pennisetum glaucum) has been a favorite of the volunteer flower arrangers - its burly black seed heads are very dramatic and the dark foliage is a great contrast for - just about anything! In the garden, we’ve got it stunningly and serendipitously paired with Snow on the mountain (Euphorbia marginata) - can’t miss that combo.

Another favorite of mine, grown for the 2nd year in a row, is Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi). Arching inflorescences dangle shiny seeds that clack like prayer beads. Last year I went a little crazy collecting the black and gray seeds because I thought I’d make jewelry… We sowed some of them instead.

Gail has been growing Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum - sold by Stokes as Pennisetum ruppelianum) for the gardens since well before my time and it’s certainly a tried and true winner. This year we used it in the Rose Garden and I’m not sure yet if I think it’s a good addition or a clash of cultures. Any opinions??

This new neighbor kitty (who, incidentally, has the biggest paws I’ve ever seen on a tigger) thinks it’s just what the garden needed.

(Hover over pictures for titles/I.D.s and click on for larger images.)

It’s been another dry week of desiccating wind, worries and ragweed allergies. All over the property difficult choices are being made about what to water and what to let go - the guys are looking pretty grim lately. Most of the major collection trees and newly planted trees and shrubs are on a water rotation but there places where the weather is having an obvious effect - the periwinkle in the Bosquet (shown at right) has seen better days. Even the goutweed (Aegopodium. - Not shown) is wilting - not that we’d mind if some of that died… (I think it’s made of tougher stuff) We’re starting to hear the word “drought” in the news and are crossing fingers and toes that a forecasted “chance of showers” for the beginning of next week becomes a full soaking rain. Water restrictions are certainly around the corner and we’re watching our well.

A couple-three corrections: The Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) which we all thought was only suffering damage from a weird winter does have a fungal problem. The guys have been watering it to keep it from becoming more stressed and they believe that it will recover without having to spray it with a fungicide.

The plants in the bed surrounded by recycled iron from the greenhouse are most likely NOT stunted from leaching iron. Evidently, grass can be a canary-in-the-coalmine for toxic iron levels by turning black. The sod around that bed is perfectly healthy! Could be the early summer heat that slowed the plants down.

And Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ is quite green! - and white and pinkish these days. A glaring sun does bleach it out but it’s really a whitish shade of green rather than a greenish shade of white now that I’ve taken a better look!

Another greeny white beauty is the Moonflower that just opened in the Rose Garden. I’ve noticed it on my early morning rounds and by 10AM or so they’ve already closed up. Come early or late in the day for an ethereal and fragrant display.

Nicotiana sylvestris are also adding their fragrance to the evening air - brides-to-be take note: September evenings are just as sweet as June!

And a tree by the south end of the house caught my eye - The Golden Rain Tree (Koelreutaria paniculata) is full of green and buff seed pods - gorgeous.