02 November 2008

Blaze of Glory Part the Second

When we left our foliage festival, we were in the courtyard at the KC Irving Centre at Acadia University, admiring the Vaccinium. Let's have a closer look at some of those flamboyant colours, shall we? 

I wasn't over at the Gardens this weekend, but things are looking a little different, I do know that. We've had a lot of wind this past week, and a lot of leaves have blown off; and those that haven't blown off have started to bronze quite dramatically. It IS, after all, NO-vember.. 

However, the berries of Myrtle, or wild bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica) will stay on their twigs for a long time yet, and they're really interesting to look at. I've never had any bayberry candles, but I'm told they're lovely too. I'll just enjoy the plants as they are, for the time being. I don't have that crafty gene. 

This is one of the most flamboyant plants in my fall garden: a spirea called 'Tor'. During the summer, it's just a polite, tidy shrub that flowers inconsequentially. Come autumn, however, it erupts into some of the most amazing shades. 

This sugar maple is on the street where my guitar teacher lives. It stopped me in my tracks when I saw it and of course I had to walk back to it and take its photo. Sugar maples and red maples are among my favourites, as I noted in Blaze of Glory Part the First. 

I believe the double flowered oakleaf hydrangea I showed in that same post is 'Snowflake'. I too am so tempted to try it. But one hydrangea type that does very well for me is the paniculata 'Grandiflora' types, also known as PeeGees. This one is at a local nursery and is very spectacular this year. 

This is a late-flowering shoot of 'Quick Fire' hydrangea. The rest of the shrug flowered earlier in the year--as in midsummer--but it put on a real spurt of growth on this one shoot and produced flowers, to my astonishment. This cultivar is a star in my books, almost as much as 'LImelight'. 

This is one of my lacecaps, a blue-flowered one, but right now it's the foliage that is appealing to me most of all. 

My deciduous azaleas are doing fun things right now, too. This is 'Golden Lights'. 

I should have gotten out this week to take more photos of this one, which is one of the seedling plants I got from my friends Sharon and Bill. I think this is the one I nicknamed 'Bill.'

One of my favourite perennial species is Euphorbia, and this particular variety is 'Fireglow.' Some of its shoots also put on a second flush of blooms and bracts and they've turned a fabulous rainbow of colour, too. 

i'm not sure which cornus this is, but I'm guessing Cornus alba. The rich wine foliage contrasts marvelously with the snowy white berries. It's not in my garden, but up at the Irving Centre, so I just need to contact one of the staff to get its identification. 

And this glorious plant is the arrowwood viburnum. It also isn't in my garden. Yet. Native viburums, cultivated ones...I love them all. I think they may be habit-forming, don't you? 

25 comments:

  1. Beautiful colors in your post today -- I love that spirea, Tor, and am wondering what color the foliage is in the spring and summer? It's still 85 degrees here -- ugh!

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  2. I was at the Irving gardens on Thursday, yes, a lot of the leaves were gone on the trees, but it looked like the shrubby plants were just coming into their full glory (or their full glory lasts longer - more stamina, perhaps?). I had never been there in the fall, it was lovely. I took lots of pictures. :)

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  3. Beautiful foliages and colours Jodi. I hardly have any left. My garden is in the black and white state now for... +100 days :-( Lots of Love Tyra

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  4. Isn't fall a glorious time for beautiful colors? We've had some exceptional oranges and reds this year as well. I love that double hydrangea! It's a PeeGee? I can't believe there are still some blooming. Great blaze of Glory post.

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  5. It looks like your garden is going out in a blaze of glory Jodi. Love seeing all those beautiful blasts of color.

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  6. Yup, there is a lot of blazing, if not to say, flaming colours going on. Love that sugar maple tree, geeeooorgeous! No wonder it stopped you in your tracks.

    Here a lot of leaves have fallen too, Winter is on its way.

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  7. I think all the plants you've featured here could be habit-forming! I'm especially struck by the wine colored foliage of that cornus...the white berries against those leaves is spectacular.

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  8. What a treat to view your photos today with such wonderful and diverse fall coloration of foliage. Here in the Deep South, we do not get such contrast and intensity in the fall colors due to our warmer climate I suppose.
    I will return later to catch up on your posts which I missed while out on medical leave the past 2 months.
    Jon at Mississippi Garden on 11- 3-08

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  9. Beautiful! That viburnum is stunning. But the white berries against the wine colored foliage of the cornus is gorgeous. Fall is my favorite season! --Curmudgeon

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  10. Wow, what a fabulouse variety of fall colors you've shared. I'm just plain embarrassed at my lack of fall colors here. Must keep that in mind next spring when I'm planting! I concentrated so hard on flowers that I forgot about foliage!

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  11. Vibrunums are like chocolate. I bought 6 this year. Viburnums. I bought like 500 pounds of chocolate, so I need to catch up with the shrubs. But right now my native chokeberries are putting on a bright red show, with bright red berries on one, and nearly black on the other.

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  12. All great choices and photos. I also love the viburnums. Must have more!

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  13. Wow, Jodi, you show so many wonderful things here! That PeeGee is really pretty and it has never really appealed to me before. I may have to reconsider!

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  14. I love the Autumn color in your new post. We don't have dramatic change of seasons here in Northern Cal. Didn't know that you have published books and all though I'm not surprised. Are you felines famous too?

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  15. It's hard to believe you're so far north and the season still so vibrant in color. Our color has fallen to the ground. Guess the heavy wet snow we had didn't help by bringing the leaves along with the branches they were on to the ground.

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  16. Love your photographs. They are so vibrant and up close. You can almost reach out and touch the berries and leaves, and I think I can catch a whiff of autumn in the air.

    I also enjoyed the pics of your cat-kids! They are adorable.

    Brenda

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  17. A friend of mine sent me the link to your site and I am glad she did. I live in Australia and when the seasons change there is not much difference in colour. Your photo's remind me of the beauty in the change. Even if it is to the black and white of winter.

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  18. What a great blaze! I really enjoyed part I too. My Oakleaf Hydrangeas look spectacular this year, I do so hope you will be able to grow one. While I'm not a Spirea fan, I'm tempted by 'Tor.' I have such a thing about autumn color on shrubs I'd plant something just for that, although I prefer things that look good in other seasons also, such as the Cotinus 'Golden Spirit.' Mine doesn't look anywhere near as good as the one you photographed, but then it was completely buried in snow last year, so I'm just happy that it's alive.

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  19. Hi Jodi, hope you are doing okay. You have shown us lots of outstanding trees and shrubs with colorful foliage and berries. I simply must have Quick Fire. you have mentioned it before and I will be on the look out for it. Love you photo of the buds. Thinking of you.
    Frances

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  20. Love your autumn colors. The back of my yard has a red maple and also a lion's head maple turning dark rust. I love autumn, except for the cold winds.

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  21. Glorious! esp the PeeGee hydrangea... what a wonderful plant that is. Your picture reminded me that I want to make room for one this year!

    Beautiful post.

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  22. So very beautiful! I've only just begun to plant things with fall colour in mind. I've got a couple of mountain ashes and (I think) some smaller size maples that should be fun in a few years or so.

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  23. You certainly take wonderful pictures! Do you use a digital camera?

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  24. lovely color so late in the season...isn't autumn grand?

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