Bambi's Autumn Diary

31 Oct '07 2:18 am

I thought I’d start an Autumn diary, even though we’re already well into Autumn, more as a record than anything else, so you don’t all have to try and find anything interesting in it!

Anyway, I’ve been relatively busy in the garden, bearing in mind that now the clocks have gone back, it’s pitch dark when I get home after work which means that from now until probably February or maybe even March, all my gardening is going to be restricted to maybe 5/10 minutes in the morning if I have time before going to work, and weekends. The weekend before last, I planted lots of bulbs – some English bluebells under my variegated tree (still don’t know what it is – any help would be appreciated!) and some tulips under the acer - Lady Jane which is a small, lily-flowering tulip with pink and white petals and Queen of Night which is a really dark purple (black). I also planted some primroses in amongst the tulips which may or may not work how I want it to! I gave the variegated tree (mentioned above) a bit of a haircut, as you may notice, as its lower branches were almost touching the ground and overhanging the lawn which was turning brown underneath, so I’ve cut back all the lower branches and I think it looks a bit better, plus I can actually get to the area underneath to weed, etc!

I bought some wallflowers and some (hopefully) winter-flowering violas too which I’ve planted around the garden so some areas are starting to look a bit more full, but there’s still a lot of bare earth around, mainly waiting for my veggies to go in next Spring – I still can’t get my head around whether or not I’ve got time to put something in and have it out again before the veggies need to occupy that space! Plus I don’t want to go spending loads of money on plants that aren’t going to last very long!

One of my lavenders, my sweet peas and dianthus are all still just about flowering and the French marigolds and fuschia are still doing me proud; the harts tongue ferns which I transplanted to my wild flower area haven’t died, so I’m assuming they like the dark and damp in that corner! One of the primulas in my alpine garden (argh, can’t remember its name!) is flowering again too, although it’s just about to go over so I haven’t captured it at its best I’m afraid.

Last Saturday I planted my garlic, which had finally arrived (thanks Royal Mail postal strike!) and I potted up some plugs of delphiniums and foxgloves (again, can’t remember what they are – sorry, bad memory day today, methinks!). I also put my sweet pea seeds in some water to soak overnight and then it rained all day on Sunday so I’m ashamed to say I didn’t actually step foot outside the house! Consequently, though, I popped into the utility room (which I’ve taken over as my gardening room!) this morning and saw them sitting on the side, still in their water! Oops. I do hope they’ll be ok - luckily I’m going to have a chance to sow them tomorrow as I’ve got the day off work because I’ve signed up on a one-day course with the RSPCA to learn how to microchip animals (cats, dogs, etc.) – I’m really looking forward to it and it’ll mean that I’ll be qualified to do this in the future as they hold microchipping events every now and again in an attempt to lessen the numbers of lost or stray animals that end up in their already overcrowded centres. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Finally, my Christmas Cactus has started to flower and has lots more buds just coming along too. I love the colour of the flowers and wonder if they’re all going to be the same colour – which should indicate that all the “bits” came from the same plant, or if I’m going to get some different colours. I wait with baited breath!

31 Oct '07 5:55 am

Little violas are delightful flowers to have in a garden I think-they give splashes of colour -yours are very pretty-and have such a cheerful appearance.
what is the structure with the primula?It is beautiful,elegant and I can't rememeber seeing it before-is it in the middle of your garden area?
Dixie.

31 Oct '07 3:29 pm

I can't see your variegated tree well enough to admit that I just don't know what it is. I'm going to guess maybe a Cornus of some kind? There are some with nice variegated folliage. I love your orange orchid cactus. I have a white-pink one that is also in bloom right now. I've brought into school to share with my students. But orange is my most favored color and I"ve never seen an orange one before. Your maple sure gives you fall color. We don't get much of that where I am, but persimmons turn nice colors. Thanks for the tour!

1 Nov '07 2:00 am

Such lovely flowers still in your Autumn garden Bambi. I too love your violas. Such pretty soft colors. As to your tree, I am guessing that if it were a cornus you would have been able to identify it's flowers. This makes me think that perhaps it is in the elm family. The overall shape fits this family and there are some lovely variegated cultivars available. It would be helpful if you could post a photo of the leaf detail. The other possibility might be a hawthorne, but I don't know if there are variegated varieties available.

1 Nov '07 7:52 am

Hi all, thanks for your comments.

Dixie: I love the violas too - I prefer them to the larger pansies as they're so much more delicate and sweet. The primula is in one of the pots sitting inside the little wall surrounding the bird bath (which is the structure behind the flowers) - it looks giant in that photo actually, doesn't it?! Very Happy

I hadn't spotted that before! Eventually, I'm going to add more pots which I'm hoping will mean that the pebbles will reach higher up the sides of the pots and cover them up as they're not very attractive! Unfortunately there's a drain underneath the pebbles which is why the bird bath is where it is, otherwise I'd just fill the wall with soil and plant it up directly.

Mark and Faith: Oops! Should have actually taken a closer photo of the tree before asking anyone for identification. Embarassed

Sorry about that! I'll take one in the morning and post it tomorrow. In the meantime, I could describe it: the leaves are about 3cm long and a little bit spikey (numerous scratches testify to this!); if I recall correctly they're held opposite on the stem (but they might be alternate) and there are tiny little white flowers at the moment which have a very faint smell (honeyish I think) and are quite hard to see - in fact, I only really noticed them when I heard a bee buzzing around and took a closer look! I've not noticed any berries or fruit before, but I'm going to keep an eye out over the next few weeks to see what happens with the flowers once they're done. The trunk is probably around 15/20 cm diameter and the whole tree I think is about 6/7 feet tall (sorry, 2m - lapsed into imperial there, can't cope when the measurements get too large! Very Happy

). I've never pruned it or cut it back before now because it's quite slow-growing and I've only ever found one small twig of leaves that had reverted back to full green (which I promptly cut off). Oh, and it's evergreen, which might be because it's relatively mild where I am and the garden itself is quite sheltered too. Think that just about covers it!

1 Nov '07 9:44 am

Okay, if it smells nice and the flowers are small I've got one more guess. Perhaps a pittosporum? There is one used as a street tree in Berkeley which is heavenly in winter (maybe in fall too). The leaves can be stiff but probably not pointy. Oh well, its fun and easier to guess before a close-up convinces me I haven't a clue.

2 Nov '07 4:16 am

Hi Mark,

You know, my Mum thought it might be a pittosporum when I described it to her, but couldn't be sure as she couldn't remember what it looked like, so perhaps you're right. Anyway, here are some close-up photos for you or anyone else who might want to venture an opinion.

Bambi

2 Nov '07 6:28 am

Well, Bambi, I think you definitely have a pittosporum; however, I couldn't find an exact match with the white flowers (most seem to have orange or red to red-black flowers). The closest one I see is P. tobira (Japanese mock-orange)which is a "usually rounded and dense shrub or small tree with erect, sturdy stems and alternate, obovate, leathery leaves" "bears large, handsome, terminal, umbel-like clusters of bell-shaped, very sweetly scented, ceamy white flowers". It does have a variegated cultivar. Sounds a lot like your small tree and the pictures in my book do show a rounded shape shrub with foliage all the way to the ground. You said you had limbed yours up to get the foliage off the ground. I think it makes a very pretty tree form this way.

2 Nov '07 10:42 pm

Oh dear. I vaguely remember that I had to abort posting just after Mark's first response. There I suggested variegated privet (obviously not, as the leaves are too solid); then your description of scratches made me think of holly, which I'll still not rule out, or even the plant that looks like holly but has a longer name starting with an o ( Think

At least I've learnt that Mark's lovely fall pictures are of a pensimmon. I'd read that in one of his early posts, but forgotten.

Anyway - it is good to see how your garden grows, Bambi!!

3 Nov '07 1:21 am

Hi dear Bambi! Simply wonderful seeing your autumn garden! How lovely if some of your beautiful acer leaves can litter my garden instead, just love all those autumn-colored ones! Pretty violas...I likened them to my self-seeded torenias that splash their colors randomly everywhere. Love too that gorgeous orange zygocactus! Hmm...I'm so jealous, mine ceased flowering 3 years ago! I wonder why? Rolling Eyes

Thanks for sharing, dear friend! Very Happy

Bambi's Autumn Diary

Bambi's Autumn Diary

Autumn garden

Hi Bambi

Bambi's Autumn Garden

Keen to guess again.

Unknown Small Tree

Pittosporum

Unposted post...