Six on Saturday – 13/11/2021 – Foliage, Groundcover & a Raised Bed

With little help from me, the garden is slowly putting itself to bed for the winter. Almost all deciduous trees have given up their foliage, almost all annuals have stopped blooming or died (many were hastened to their end my my secateurs, I admit), and just a few perennials have the odd bloom bursting open. That said, our thus far mild November has meant there’s still colour to be found, such as five of these six things in my garden this weekend. To see six things in garden the world over, check out The Propagator‘s site.

Paperbark Maple – Acer griseum – one of the smaller maples, it leafs out very late in the spring and, as a reward for our pateience, it holds onto its leaves very late into the fall. They’re a lovely red this time of year (as in the top, feature photo), but the allure of this tree to many is its exfoliating cinnamon coloured bark.

Deer ate the outer half of my Fothergilla last winter – no flowers for me this past spring, and the shrub remained stunted all year. I’m hoping it will survive this winter intact, if for no reason other than its beautiful orange-yellow leaves that, again, remain on the shrub well into fall.

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More lovely red leaves – this time they’re a dark glossy shade, courtesy of this ‘Crimson Bouquet’ grandiflora rose. I moved it to its current spot last fall and it’s been quite happy, not willing to acknowledge the coming, in very short order, of winter.

And now for a pair of ground covers. They’re both semi-evergreen in my garden, they both spread quite readily in full sun and they’re both covered in a profusion of flowers for a period in mid to late spring, followed by sporadic flowering until they get covered by snow.

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A small leaved Geranium, on the left, possibly ‘Max Frei,’ and Veronica Whitley’s Speedwell on the right.

And finally, a new raised bed. This was built using scraps of lumber we’ve had hanging about the yard for a while; I wanted it placed at the end of the back porch, facing south, under a metal trellis. I’ll plant peas in this bed in early spring, along with spinach or lettuce. Perhaps a few Nasturtiums to hang over the edges. Have a great weekend everyone!