Fall 2003 Garden Photos

I've planted most of the larger plants that will be the backbone of my new flowerbed at the southeast edge of the back yard. I'm putting the larger pictures first, and next come pictures of the individual plants.

Here's a panoramic picture of that corner, including the new bed and the south end of the back slope:

Here's a view from the middle of the back yard, of just the new bed:

I planted an unlabeled red rose from Julius Rosso Nursery in front of a rugged-looking cryptomeria japonica 'Jindai-Sugi' and a nearby red osier dogwood. I want the red flowers to bring out the color in the red twigs and contrast with the fresh evergreen color of the cryptomeria. In the three days since I planted it, the rose has opened another red blossom.

Moving left, the yellow groove bamboo has a variegated redtwig dogwood shrub on each side of it for color contrast of both twigs and leaves. The northern sea oats is in front of the bamboo and a mystery shrub is on the left.

The mystery shrub had a sign, but no label. I looked it up in my book before I bought it, and I think the book said it gets about four feet tall. It's evergreen, with tiny, shiny green leaves and orange-red twigs. Some grow vertically, some twist and turn. I think it will make an interesting shape, as will the 'Contorted Red' quince that is also in this bed.

Left to right, the mystery shrub and the northern sea oats:

The red osier dogwood is native here. It will get tall and twiggy, growing many stems from its base, so I left it as much room as I could. It can be pruned a lot and will then grow more bright-red stems. Here is a close-up of its beautiful, sprouting leaves, along with the cryptomeria's pretty green needles and brown bark:
red osier dogwood Cryptomeria japonica 'Jindai-Sugi'

This redcurrant 'King Edward VII' (below left) is between and in front of the red osier dogwood and the variegated hybrid dogwood shrub C. alba Argenteo-marginata (below right).
variegated dogwood

Here are two plants I grew from cuttings this year, a buddleia and a dwarf redtwig dogwood (C. s. Kelseyii), which is showing a little fall color. When I took my home-cloned plants out of their pots, I saw that they have better-looking root systems than the plants I buy usually do. A lot of long, white roots, not pot-bound and brown ones.
buddleia cornus 'Kelseyii'

The only really low-growing plant I've put in so far is a perennial purple verbena, V. canadensis 'Homestead Purple,' which appears in the picture of the bamboo above.

Now for some other things. Here's the neighbor's playful cat, Sabrina, in the flowerbed. This is the cat that converted my husband to a cat-lover. In front of Sabrina is the little contorted red quince I've grown from a bare-root twig. It's supposed to grow four to five feet tall.
Sabrina

Fall colors on my eastern dogwood tree, which is now close to seven feet tall, and a close-up on my little pot of various sedum clippings I put together. They've grown!
sedum

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Fall 2003 Garden Photos

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