Gorgeous fall day
‘Marie Pavie’ rose
Autumn days like today are what I dream of during Austin’s hot, sticky summers. The day was absolutely perfect—sunny, blue skies, 68 degrees, a slight crispness in the air. I wish I could say I spent the whole day outside, but alas, there was work to be done indoors. But we did eat outside—at Phil’s Ice House—for dinner.
It was dark when we got home, but the garden lights were gently illuminating the garden (they’re on a timer), lighting up the new crepe myrtle and the weeping yaupon and showing off the central courtyard-path—reminding me once again how glad I am to have gotten those lights installed at last.
Here are a few pictures of demure roses and bold bottlebrush in my late-fall garden. Enjoy!
Another shot of ‘Marie Pavie’, with ‘Indigo Spires’ salvia blooming behind it.
The “fiber-optic” flower of ‘Little John’ dwarf bottlebrush, as seen head-on.
I like its slightly hairy, blue-green foliage as much as the flower, which is good because it hasn’t flowered much since I planted it last year. Maybe it takes a while to get going?
Very enjoyable! I can at least say that we had a bit of sun today, though it was quite cold… definitely needed a winter coat. Nothing is blooming, though. The landscape is taking on that brown look for winter, with just the evergreens providing signs of life, and even they turn a darker green in the winter, and can almost look black from a distance.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
The end of the green season gives you lots of time to dream about May, doesn’t it, Carol? Although a snow-covered evergreen is something beautiful to dream about too. —Pam
I first saw a ‘Little John’ without blooms, and fell in love with the colour and texture of the foliage too. Bottle-brushes are flowering in Sydney at the moment; they flower in Spring and Summer as a rule. There is some general information at http://www.anbg.gov.au/callistemon/index.html which might help you. I imagine you will need to move it inside for winter?
How interesting that they flower in spring and summer in Sydney, whereas here I’ve only seen them blooming in the fall. But then, it’s spring in Australia now, right? Hmmm. Anyway, thanks for the info, Chookie.
They are frost-tender, but they survive the low 30s perfectly well here. In fact, my two came through an ice storm last year with flying colors. However, Austin’s freezes are usually not severe and rarely last more than a few hours. My bottlebrushes are additionally protected by a south-facing wall. —Pam