Foggy November morning...

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

Autumn views around Havenwood

Last photo of the dahlias and cannas unmarred before frost.

Hello friends! There is so much busy living and gardening going on around our little world right now. Here is a glimpse...

Welcome November!

Rudbeckia seedheads

What a beautiful autumn we have had! This October was as nice a one as I can remember. 

Fall Is for Planting Perennials

The first snow fell last night so it is high time to get these lovely shade garden plants in the ground!

The days are getting shorter and cooler and the blessed rains of autumn are breaking through the dry days of summer. It is finally fall planting season! Part of me goes into grieving every year at this time, as I hate to see the growing season end. But hope says to look forward to what is to come and so I like to channel my disappointment in to garden tasks that will bear fruit in the coming year. 

I came home last week from a perennial plant sale with golden sedge, purple Heucheras, pastel Astilbe, Autumn ferns and some new varieties of golden Hosta will fill everything out in the Beech tree bed nicely. 

Happy Thanksgiving & End of November Views

Havenwood house has some new exterior colors this month. We are giving them a try; what do you think?

End of the Month View: One More Path...

Pergola Garden with our new pea gravel walk this week.

Our new Pergola Garden (so called for the invisible pergola... see it on the plan) was in need of some major changes with the walks in order to accommodate my new gardens. In July, I posted photos of this garden with just the hedges in place. We had a friend volunteer to come over and show my husband how to manually remove the sidewalks by using sledge hammers and wood jacks, which worked like a charm. Amazingly, he removed the long curve from the large yew bushes in a week... see below to compare.

Mow Those Leaves!

My husband mulching leaves our in the woodland.

For all of those gardeners who have wondered, "What can I do with all of my leaves besides send them to the landfill or municipality?"

It should be obvious that it is the leaf litter in the forest that helps to supports growth of shade plants. But less known is that there is also a lot of new research that shows how leaves also benefit you lawn. For more explanation of this method, see my old post on mowing your leaves in fall.

Havenwood ~ GBBD October 2014

Native asters, Doellingeria umbellata, flowering away at our new garden this autumn.

Welcome to my new garden in Pennsylvania, zone 5 for the autumn!

I have been hard at work this year to put in many new garden area according to my garden master plan (see it here). Before getting to bulb planting yesterday, I took a walk around to capture some of the little fall flowers that are already blooming away here at Havenwood...

Projects Around Havenwood

Filling in the lily pond for the year...

Autumn is in full swing in Pennsylvania... the last of my children's soccer games are on this Saturday, the leaves are all looking a bit less green and more yellow, there is an urgent need to get some garden pots washed and stacked before snow is here, and we have had our first light frost so the counter is stacked high with green tomatoes and tiny watermelon that might be worth a bite or two.

Bulbs are going in at a terrific rate around here, with 100 per day as my goal. We had 2,500 on our order this year, as I am excited to get many different varieties naturalizing around Havenwood. Only the tulips will remain to be planted after today, which need to wait until the ground temperatures become lower (after a hard frost) to discourage early growth before spring. I did chose many of the varieties that I posted on my How to Chose a Tulip Combination post.

How to Choose a Tulip Combination

Tulip 'Princess Irene' and Tulip 'Cum Laude' at Gilmore Gardens in May 2012

I have put much thought this week into what bulbs we should start at Havenwood for our first official spring season next year. There are crocuses, snowdrops, rock irises, daffodils, fritillaries, grape hyacinths, anemones, summer snowflakes, camassias, allium and - not least - tulips to think about. That is a lot to hold in ones head!

When it comes to choosing tulips in particular, I have found a trick that really helps me have a good idea about what the finished planting is going to look like: just Google it. (Isn't that the answer to many of life questions in our modern world!) Any browser (Bing. etc) with an image search capability will do.

Heeling in Pots for a Cold Winter!

So, did you buy those extra bargains at the end-of-year plant sales only to get home and not know where to put them?

Do you have more plants potted up than you have space for in your garden beds?

A potted perennial in the open winter air will get much colder than your other plants in the ground.  So, if you are not sure where to plant it this moment, then an alternate plan is in order. (A side note: A good rule of thumb when buying plants for pots meant to stay outside all winter is to buy plants/shrubs that can handle one or even two hardiness zones colder than where you live.)

One option for your homeless perennials is to "heel in" your plants for the winter months. I believe it is called this because you are burying the pots up to their "heels".

• First, I like to chose a location with a little bit of shelter (ie. a nearby bush, a fence or wall) but it needs not to be covered completely because you want your plant to be watered by the rain and snow.

My chosen spot: near the fence and lilac bush where they can cozy in for the winter.

• Next, dig a pot-sized hole to 4-6 inches deep. Deeper will give them more warmth, so if they are your prized baby from your grandmother's rose bush, dig a little more. 

• "Plant" your pots, filling soil back around their edges. If I have more than one pot, I plant them snug next to one another. Some gardeners dig a trench, which would be much quicker for a large number of pots. 

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD November 2013

Our Rose in November snow.

Welcome to my garden in November!

We had a week of snow here in Pennsylvania. One bright morning, I went out for a walk to see the unusual sights that come from having snow this early in the year...

Yucca in the Snow

Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' shining gold in the November snow.

We woke up to more snow yesterday. It is not abnormal for it to snow in November here in Pennsylvania, but it creates some surreal sights since we still have leaves on many bushes and trees, and even a few late flowers.

The sun was just coming up to shine through the leaves in this yucca which is potted by our tiny "potager" garden. Such a juxtaposition! I love seeing this heat loving yucca glowing gold as the snow falls fluffy around it.

Crabapple Jelly!

Pennsylvania crabapple season is here

During one of our afternoon nature walks, my kids spotted a crabapple tree that was just filled with fruit. They begged, "Can we pick some to make crabapple jelly?!?"  

Hmmm.... ok.

Fall leaves!

Fun in the leaves

So, have you jump in the leaves yet this fall? I hope so!  If not, perhaps you might live vicariously for a moment?

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ October 2013 GBBD

The Hill Garden with Canna 'King Humbert', Echinacea purpurea, Berberis purpurea, and glorious yellow maples (Acer) leaves for autumn.

Welcome to my small town Pennsylvania garden in October!

I would be delighted to show you around our corner here in US zone 5. The foliage colors are intensifying this month, though they have not yet reached their climax. Our first frost is still on its way this year. Hurray for a few more weeks with tender plants in the garden! The begonias, cannas, dahlias and annuals are still adding their pretty bit to the mix. Come talk a walk around...

View of the Driveway Garden this morning...

October in the Driveway Garden at Gilmore Gardens.

While we were getting ready for homeschool this morning, I galnced out of the kitchen window. This pretty scene was perfectly lit by the morning sun. I thought I would share it with you today as well! :)

The Driveway Garden at the end of September

Pink Sedum 'Autumn Joy', white flowered flat-topped aster (Doellingeria umbellata), double purple Aster hybrida 'Peter III', purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and white striped grass Miscanthus sinensis 'Dixieland' in the Driveway Garden this week.

September is slipping away and October is arriving here in Pennsylvania.
Here is one pretty scene between our car and door in our Driveway garden this week...

Shade Path Garden in September

Begonias, northern sea oats, Japanese forest grass and Sedum 'Frosty Morn' front our Shade Path this week... and native flat-topped asters are a white haze down its length.

See more of our Shade Path garden on our map.
Have a great weekend!
~Julie

Painting Autumn Flowers and Fruit

My watercolor inspired by the flowers of fall: purple and white Asters, bright yellow wild Helenium, blue Lobelia, toad flax (Linaria vulgaris or "Dear little bunny nose", as my girls prefer), Persicaria, and a fluffy Pennisetum.

My girls and I have been doing some paintings this week that are partly inspired by the flowers and fruits of autumn... but mostly inspired by the beautiful work of our friend Melissa Ellen. She has been posting some process photos of her watercolor paintings lately. We could not resist giving it a try ourselves!