Wednesday, September 26, 2018

The Garden in Fall

I took a walk around the garden in the afternoon, today.  And took some photographs of the garden at the beginning of Fall.

Below is the approach to the front door (M has been itching to get a coat of paint on the metal screen door; I need to buy some paint, one of these days - better add that to my mile-long to do list!), and I will need to move the potted plants away before the October prayer gathering, since a couple of the aunts have walkers and the pots will be in the way.


Approach to the Front Door

But here is the main reason why I took the picture, above:


Roses by the Front Door

I have a rose that I am encouraging to climb up the lattice by the front door and it has decided to come through the lattice and bloom!


The from the other side of the lattice

I checked on the plants I bought at the dollar store and planted in the front garden.  One of the oregano plants is barely alive (you really can't tell that I watered these plants, just yesterday evening, can you?):

Oregano plant, barely alive

The other oregano plant is doing better:

The second oregano plant

The rosemary plant is also doing well:


Rosemary Plant and Osteospermum Seedlings

The blue salvia plants are doing well, too:


Blue Salvia

The blue salvia plants are growing under the pomegranate tree:


Pomegranate Tree

There are small pomegranates on the tree - they are fully ripe, but small:


Ripe Pomegranates
I should pick them before they start splitting.

Fall is the time for the garden to recover from the heat of the summer.  Some of the succulents I had planted in the front garden, especially the aeonium, show definite signs of being scorched by the sun:


Aeonium grown in the middle of the front garden

Aeonium under the living room window

However, these ones, grown in the shade of the euphorbia are doing well:


Aeonium growing in the shade

There is a lot of tidying and cleaning needing to be done.  As you can see, the osteospermum in the front flower bed is about ready to be cut back or pulled out so that new seedlings can come up:


Flower bed along the walkway to the front door

The middle lattice panel has a jasmine vine growing up it; I am hoping it will grow to cover the whole lattice, eventually:

Jasmine Vine
The lantana is doing well:


Lantana in bloom

This is a photograph of the back yard, taken from the steps outside the sliding glass door:


Back Garden

Do you see the white spot in the shade under the orange tree to the right of the photo, towards the back?  Look for the black box in the picture below:

One of the garden cats


The curry leaf trees are forming berries:

Curry Leaf Tree 
We use the leaves to flavor curries, to make a type of porridge (with rice) and various other dishes.  We don't normally use the berries, although they are edible and have a slight licorice like taste, to me.

There is another curry leaf tree behind the garage, near the shed:


Second Curry Leaf Tree
Which seems to be doing its best to form a grove of curry leaf trees around it, as it keeps sending up new plants from its roots, every time a root gets nicked, when weeding and so forth:

Curry Leaf Seedlings
"Ginger", another of the garden cats, was curious to see what I was doing, walking around in the middle of the afternoon, when any sane cat knows it is best to lie in the shade and nap:


"Ginger" wondering what I was doing
I try hard not to name the garden cats, but, several of them have been given names!

The lantana and plumbago plants by the side wall have weathered the summer sun; M will be cutting it back, a bit later, when the weather cools.  Once upon a time, they were separate plants, but they've become one intertwined plant!


Lantana and Plumbago 

The hibiscus plant got scorched in the summer, but it's recovering and doing OK, now:


Hibiscus

There are oranges forming on the orange tree:


Oranges forming

The euphorbia plant that is trying to take over the back garden:

Euphorbia
It is at least 12 feet tall!  It was grown from a small cutting that M gave me from his garden.  He says he's never seen an euphobia grow so big!  We keep pruning it and I've been planting the cuttings all around, since it is one plant that is growing well in my garden:


More Euphorbia - the wall at the back is about 6 feet high

The back corner of the garden, with the yucca tree in the back and the old rosemary bush in the foreground, with a Bauhinia (Purple Orchid Tree), growing in the middle:

Yucca, Bauhinia,, and Rosemary
The old rosemary bush is at least 20 years old and needs to be pruned all the way back, I think.

As you can see, there's a lot of cleaning up and tidying to do.  But, a lot of it needs to wait until the temperatures cool down a bit more.  Tomorrow's forecast says the highs in my area will be in the mid-to-upper 90s. 

Thank you for coming for a walk around the garden with me.  How is your Fall garden coming along?


22 comments:

  1. Thank you for inviting us on a walk around your garden. Yet again, I am envious of your fruit trees ... I can't imagine being able to pick pomegranates and oranges from my own garden. I don't have enough room for full size trees but next year I may try the dwarf fruit trees they are advertising for patio containers.

    Before that I have to get the garden sorted. The hard landscaping is finished but the planting needs attention. I have struggled to keep on top of it since the problem with my eyes made it too painful to bend down, so I will probably have to get someone in to do the work. It looks lovely and green with splashes of red autumn foliage but sadly, most of the greenery is weeds and needs to be removed!

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    1. I hope you are able to find help with the garden, Eileen. Dwarf fruit trees will be a good way to go. You could espalier them and that would be very attractive, as well.

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  2. I always enjoy a walk around the garden. You've got a good variety of plants and the roses are especially pretty. I think all gardens are in a constant need of clean up. I know mine is.

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    1. Gardens are wonderful places, aren't they? I need to spend more time restoring mine. Fall is a good time for gardening, down here.

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  3. What a fantastic garden! Lots of treasures. The curry leaves made me chuckle. Some years ago when I was very impoverished & every cent mattered, I made dhal (lentil soup) everyday, because red lentils are so cheap & go such a long way, & had a bunch of curry leaves in the freezer. Into the dhal went a pile of curry leaves, everyday. They were often my "greens". Those days are well gone, but, my goodness, those pictures of your curry leaf plants/bushes/trees? sure brought back those memories.

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    1. Thank you, Ratnamurti. The garden is recovering from an extended drought and neglect, but I am gradually planting more succulents and drought tolerant plants. I cook dhal at least once a week; it is a wonderful, inexpensive source of nutrition and there are many health benefits associated with curry leaves. :)

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  4. How lovely to have roses blooming by your front door! A lovely way to start a garden walk. You have reminded me that my rosemary bush needs pruning too. There's a lot to do now we are into Spring here. Meg:)

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    1. I was very happy to see the roses, yesterday. Spring is a wonderful time of the year for gardening, isn't it? Our fall is a bit like your spring - a time to plant now that the temperatures are cooling.

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  5. I enjoyed your photographs and I was reminded that I saw a pomegranate tree for the first time when we were away recently by the Black Sea. We saw other trees and plants that wouldn't survive in our yard, like fig trees, and the hibiscus that you have. But we do have oregano, which comes back every spring, and we have a rambling pink rose with a strong perfume. No resident garden cats, but occasionally the woodshed motion light has come on in the night and a ginger cat was seen wandering on one occasion. Personally I wouldn't let one out at night here, there are owls that would take a cat, and raccoons would also be a threat.

    The weather was good again today and two more loads of laundry went on the line. I just wish I had the energy to catch up with the ironing. But I did manage to get out for breakfast with a friend. I woke up at 6.30 am and got up thinking it was 7.30 am. No wonder I am tired. My attempt at a nap didn't work, but maybe tonight will be good because of that.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I used to have raccoons coming to my backdoor (to eat the cat food), but I haven't seen any in awhile. Just the possum.

      Glad the weather was good and you were able to enjoy going out for breakfast with your friend. Hope you'll have a good night's sleep - the ironing can wait another day or two, I'm sure. :)

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  6. I thought that I must have commented on this post yesterday; but no, with all the talk of gardening and with another sunny and warmer day, I went outside to tend to my own. Haha. We had just received two days of rain and so pulling weeds was going to be much easier than it would normally be. So I chose to tackle the biggest outdoor chore of all. I started to pull weeds from the vegetable garden, which hasn't been touched in TWO full years. There were weeds there taller than me. Only two of them had to be dug out with a spade. Most I was able to pull out by the roots. Is it finished? Of course not. It will take a few days, but I was happy with all that I was able to accomplish. I didn't come inside until almost 2 in the afternoon, and that is because I was hungry for my lunch.

    Thank you for the garden tour. I love the climbing roses and the jasmine. I chuckled when I recognized names of plants that I have in my garden, but where your euphorbia variety is twelve feet in height, my euphorbia (cushion spurge) is more like 12 inches. My yucca (Adam's needle) is a show piece at 4 feet here, but yours is a tree. I love that you grow oranges, pomegranates and curry. So exotic.

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    1. Susan, I'm glad you were able to pull more weeds from your garden. That good that the rain helped. This particular type of euphorbia, is thriving in my garden! There is, actually, an oleander bush, behind that tall euphorbia - it has been completely hidden by the euphorbia! I've been taking cuttings from that euphorbia and planting them all over the garden, because it seems to grow well for me. The yucca plant was there when I bought the house, 27 years ago! I took a cutting from it, when I pruned it, last year, and stuck it in the ground. I think it has rooted and seems to have survived the summer; I'll know for sure if it gets some new leaves, next year. Yes, oranges, pomegranates, and don't forget the lemons and feijoa (pineapple guava). There is also an old calamondin tree, although I don't use the fruit, as much.

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  7. Pomegranates and Oranges in the Garden that would be wonderful:)
    The Roses are so Beautiful.
    I enjoyed your post.

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    1. Thank you, Fiona. Glad you enjoyed the tour of my garden. Thank you, too, for stopping by and commenting.

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    2. Thank you for your visit and kind comment 🌼

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    3. It was a pleasure; I enjoyed reading your post. :)

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  8. It's so great that you are getting oranges and pomegranates! Those are things that don't grow here so I love seeing them on trees in your yard:)

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    1. Just as I enjoy seeing all the berries and vegetables you harvest from your garden, Becky. :)

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  9. What an pretty garden. The approach to the front door looks lovely - very welcoming.

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    1. Thank you, Eloise. The garden is a work in progress, but I am hoping to devote more time to it, now that I am no longer working. :)

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  10. How nice to have pomegranates and oranges in the garden.
    You have a nice big garden. I love it. 😊

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    1. Thank you, Nil. It's a good sized garden - just too hot and dry to grow much, without driving up the water bill too much!

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