BOGTURTLE'S GARDEN-Oct 2026

-


Pleased that Selaginella uncinata, the 'Peacock Moss' is doing well in the jar, but I am sure I am not seeing the color as it is. Age has brought cataracts and it will be interesting to see things after those are corrected. This plant may be even bluer that it looks to me. I saw this little creeper on the ground from the rail one rides at Disney, in FL An amazing botanical garden a great number of folks might not know about or appreciate.  S uncinata is supposed to be hardy to zone 6, but I doubt that. If I have enough, I may try it outdoors in this zone 7a. It sends out rhizomes and is very easy to divide. 



 Why this Green Frog decided it would be a good idea to sit in the net I use to move the Guppies is a mystery. It is 2x the size it was, in late Spring, when it first arrived. It just showed up, as they might, one rainy night. So shy that getting photos is iffy. I trust it cannot help itself to the dozens of fish that have come from a pair I bought to keep mosquitoes from breeding. As temperatures drop, the Guppies will die, and I have moved a few into an indoor tank, but cannot keep them all. An effort to have anyone come and help themselves has gotten no response.


The view, on a rainy day, out from where I type at the computer. Endless garden work, by my free choice. The Hummingbirds will be gone, soon. Off to Mexico, eventually.  The center circle in the lawn was over-run by Japanese Honeysuckle, Woodbine (Virginia Creeper) and some nasty Greenbriar. With a 4 tined tool, like a rake, I rooted most out and roots and all went into the chipper, shredder. So now, a bag at a time, woodchips are being used to put a layer of them down to keep weeds out. Works, sorta. And for a year or so.The bird bath was in that circle, but, since the lid to the septic is there, I topped it with a round flagstone and that birdbath. The line of Daylily 'Happy Returns" is down to the last few buds, but I still expect some days will be warm and they will be fine.


Monarch Butterflies are on their way to the Yucatan in Mexico and it is clear why the Butterfly Bush has that common name. This is often shown and is the only one, of many introduced, presently still here. Buddlea weyeriana 'Honeycomb'.

The Buckeye Butterfly. Two on the bush the day I took this photo.


And this is a very tattered Vanessa Butterfly.  


Probably shown recently, but I think this is Ipomea hirsuta, maybe. A Morning Glory that is really blue, shading towards violet, and only about  an inch across.


Among the most significant shrubs is the huge Viburnum 'Popcorn'. A mass of these ball shaped flowers that, basically, hide the foliage every Spring. But here are a few flowers out of season banked against the rust colored Fall foliage. 


All over the property there are varieties of Winterberry Holly, Ilex verticillata. The plants are deciduous, and should be spectacular  against the snow. Never!  Every year, after the leaves have fallen, the Robins come here from the North. They feast on berries on the native Ilex that fills the understory in these woods, and get all these shown,.Actually bought netting to throw over them, but the birds got their feet entangled, and it all was not worth the effort or expense. 
As with all Holly, plants are either male or female, so a male, that never gets berries, must be as close as reasonable, to provide insect born pollen, or berries will be fewer. Even on my property, I see the amount of berries related to how close the purchased males are. Forest Farm, a nursery out West, actually has published a chart matching male and female that bloom at the same time, to maximize the berries on your property. 
Always wondered if a rainy week might make a difference, in holding down the little flying pollinators, in a particular Spring.


The dwarf Acer platanum 'Fjelheim' again. Apricot colored foliage each Fall. Orignially propagated from what is called a 'witches broom' found on the Japanese Maple well known for its red bark, 'Sango Kaku'.  


Not much to look at, but strangely satisfying, on a perfect Fall day,
 I spent over an hour blowing fallen leaves off the lengthy circular drive and more. In a few days, it will have to be done again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bogturtle's Garden- Nov. 15 to end

-
Image
                                   The Deer found nothing of interest in the leftovers and table scraps I throw out to the wildlife but I seldom get such an excellent close up, although they are around all the time.  Quite brilliant. The Nandina domestica 'Harbor dwarf' really is a dwarf form of the plant. It has never flowered or fruited here. The common name is 'Heavenly Bamboo'. Several tries at getting this form of Nandina established. Cannot say why. Finally it looks like it will grow. At the base of the Red Cedar tree where we park the vehicles. And, perhaps, more dark will disappear as the last of the chlorophyll leaves.  The amazing form I think is called 'Firepower'.  This bright yellow plant is a deciduous Rhododendron named R. mucronulatum 'Alba'. Could have planted the much commoner purple-pink or orchid colored form. Dislike the color. So I planted this, which will bloom...
Read more

Bogturtle's Garden- April 15 to end, 2026

-
Image
  Just outside the kitchen, where the faucet for the garden hose is, a native, planted years ago, is spreading. Chrysogonum virginianum. A common name is 'Green and Gold'. Just about evergreen, here.  Really a flood of blooming coming on. Hardly able to keep track of it. I planted a form of perennial Forget Me Not in a planter by the little pool. I think they have started, but, last year, they shed seed onto the ground outside, and those hav grown an bloomed much earlier. And a few bloom white, which is fine with me. Myosotis silvatica, I think. But it does not seem a biennial at all. It returns, as far as I can tell, perennially. And at least a hundred species have been named. Kerria japonica 'Plena', with its doubled marigold like flowers is coming into bloom. A colonizing plant, spreading now into areas where it is not welcome. 'Dependable' might be the word. And around the exit drive, a growing clump of cream colored ones bloom. Not snow white. K. J. 'Al...
Read more

Bogturtle's Garden- October 2125

-
Image
Two female Ilex verticellata are loaded with berries, and, unfortunately, the Robins that will move down from Canada and Northern States will get them all. The berries will not decorate bare branches for Christmas. Both shrubs are named clones of the Winterberry Holly. The red is a dwarfer clone called I. v. 'Sprite' and the yellow I.v. 'Harvest Gold'. I think the necessary male, that provides the pollen, is in the corner of the house, nearby. This silver leaved clone of the Cyclamen hederaceae should show its white flowers in Spring and be evergreen. Only one of several that were here among the Violets in the lens shaped Rose bed just outside this additions windows. Some plants are particular regarding soil pH and some don't seem to care. But finding out which really are fussy is not always easy. This soil is usually acid, so that might be why the other two Cyclamen corms did not survive. They can grow the size of a dinner plate, apparently.  Really just anticipati...
Read more