The Garden in October 2005, Autumn

my garden

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Click to enlarge

November 3, 2005

October 2005


Cyclamen hederifolium 'Silver Leaf'	Arum italicum fruits	Leucosceptrum stellipilum v formosana BSWJ 1804	Trochodendron aralioides from Japan BSWJ6080	Dichroa febrifuga BSWJ2367
And October comes in like a lamb after the rains and high winds (only during the rains ) at the end of September. It is cloudy and very still and quite depressing. Seedling's are germinating on the bare soil on the side especially of Silene dioica or Melandrium or whatever and I should know better as a trained taxonomist and I can appreciate how frustrating name changes must be to the ordinary gardener. All Smilacinas must be called Maianthemum now and that name change did occur in the mid 80's, but it has now filtered down to the 'average' horticulturist and so it goes on!

Cardiandra formosana 'Hsitou' BSWJ7022	Reineckea carnea 'Variegata'	Aucuba omeiensis BWJ8048	Chloranthus oldhamii BSWJ2019	Clematis alpina seed heads
The Cardiandra is a wonderful plant this variety 'Hsitou' has very large outer florets giving a very Japanese feel to the plant. As usual next year will tell me how good a garden plant this is. At the moment it is growing in loamy soil that does not dry out and has a good deal of sunshine to ripen the woody stems as it flowers so late in the season. The Reineckea carnea 'Variegata' is not reliably variegated and one has to remember to remove non variegated shoots. It is said to bring luck if it flowers (says something about the frequency of flowering!). The Aucuba omeiensis(derived from cuttings) is growing in deep shade in moist loam under the big Acacia tree. At the moment it is about 4 feet high and very healthy. How hardy this is, no - one knows, again we shall see! It is a beautiful foliage plant though. I have put another picture of Chloranthus oldamii as it continues to flower almost throughout the seasons and the scent - a hint of the Orient. Peculiar, once you pick the inflorescence the perfume disappears. The Arum italicum, although it makes a wonderful photograph, is a menace in this garden and in gardens in the UK in general - don't plant this - it is invasive! 18th October - the mild, warm weather we have had for the past week has broken and is now overcast, colder with showers. As yet there has been no real autumn colouration to the leaves, in fact the leaves are very reluctant to fall. Fraxinus excelsior has lost quite a few leaves but more due to high winds we have had and those that have fallen form a crunchy, curled layer everywhere. Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' is about the only tree showing the traditional red leaves. There are others but just the odd leaves.

Fraxinus leaves on teak bench	Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' - a glimpse of Autumn	Halesia carolina autumn colours	Acer davidii beginnings of autumn colourings	Cornus controversa 'Variegata' autumn

Rubus rolfei BSWJ3878 fruits	Sorbus randaiensis BSWJ3202 autumn colours	Iris foetidissima seeds	Leucosceptrum stellipilum v. tosaense BSWJ8892	Mitella formosana BSWJ125

A taste of the Autumn - perhaps!


Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' with Hostas	Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' translucent reds	Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' fleeting Autumn colours	Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' translucent yellows	Stewartia pseudocamellia Autumn colours
At the end of this month we have had record breaking temperatures, equaling those since the late 1800's! 22°C on Wednesday the 26th October. This was a brilliant summer-like day, unbelievable. Considering the sun is now much 'weaker' these temperatures are all the more surprising. Then the following day, high winds, rain and often torrential became the feature. We seem to oscillate between 'extremes' or at least extremes for us, which brings me to perhaps the most important phenomenon facing mankind today - global warming. Some sort of rationalization of this is attempted on the 'Thoughts' page - who knows this may and perhaps warrant a full separate page , we shall see how it goes!