I love wildlife in the garden! We get quite a lot of birds, butterflies, bees and occasionally a mouse and a toad. Since the garden is small and can’t fit that many things at once I usually swap the bee boxes for bird feeder in the fall.
This year I’ve got this giant bird feeder from Wildlife garden. I hope to pack it full so it will last more than a few days before I need to go out and refill it.
We had a first frost this weekend. The cold temperatures knocked out most of my fall containers with plants like Coleus and Begonias. The plants went to the compost and I cleaned up the front porch for late fall.
I usually do arrangements with three to four types of plants per container. But this year I thought I would try just one type of plant per container and instead to group the containers. It turned out really nice and clean!
We had our first frost of the year. Night temperature went down to 25 °F (-4°C).
The garden looked different this morning. The feeling of greenery and lushness has begun to disappear. While most of the perennials are still hanging in there, they have changed shape and color during just one night.
I’m happy to have a lot of winter interest in the garden. Heucheras, Hallabores, Yews, Boxwoods – all of them keep their shape and most of their color all year round.
The serviceberry glows in the morning sun. It has just begun to turn color and the orange and red leaves are looking beautiful.
We planted this tree in early spring. It’s still quite small but has already given us a taste what it will bring in terms of year-round interest: pretty white blooms in spring, red berries in the summer and gorgeous colors in the fall.
It can grow in sun to part shade. I did read that it needs full sun to get the prettiest fall colors. However, mine get only 6h sun a day and it doing just fine.
Actaea simplex ’Pink Spike’ (Baneberry) has grown quite a bit in just a few months. In a uear or two it will get 3-5 feet tall (90-150 cm) and 1-2 feet wide (30-60 cm). The size and the dark foliage bring drama and contrast to the garden.
Most Baneberrys prefer part sun. However, the ’Pink Spike’ variety can grow and bloom in full shade. The delicate pink blooms glow in a shade garden.