December Garden

 The word of the month is: Rain. Oy, it's been wet this first half of December with 8.01 inches in the first nine days. There was a dry-ish moment in the middle of it all when I managed to head out with my camera for a post about the garden. Granted, visiting gardens in England these past several posts has been fantastic fun, but it is nice to focus on our own this time around.

It's a quiet month in terms of WOW moments in the garden, but I appreciate the quieter side and the chance to catch up on a few garden (and house!) chores. Here then is Chickadee Gardens mid-December:

Grevillea 'Neil Bell' continues to flower prolifically and the hummingbirds couldn't be happier. This huge shrub has been incredibly forgiving. Its first two years it didn't grow in a location with weird sandy soil and also compost. I moved it to unamended clay soil in full sun and it has since thrived. It got so large it even had half of its bulk pull away at the trunk and I thought it might be a goner, at least the half that split away. I left it to heal in place, which it did, and several months after it had healed I also tip-pruned it to lighten the load. This year it had more flowers than ever before. 

Muhlenbergia rigens dusted with fog looks slightly sparkly. You can just make out Clematis cirrhosa ‘Wisley Cream’ in the background climbing up the edge of the deck, its white flowers a perfect decoration for the holidays.

Looking north through the labyrinth garden, Salix elaeagnos ssp. angustifolia in the center is finally turning golden shades and starting to drop its leaves.

Miscanthus 'Malepartus' had gorgeous orange and red colors before turning to this still attractive buff color. I appreciate this grass for its incredible upright nature, no support required.

A geranium seedling whose parentage is likely G. sanguineum 'New Hampshire Purple' or 'Max Frei'. This coloration was unexpected and rather pretty.

Another view of the labyrinth garden with several Phlomis russelliana.

Berberis jamesiana had amazing orange tones to the leaves just after this photo was taken, it didn't last long but it was spectacular. The berries will persist until the birds take care of them all. I like how late this shrub turns colors and drops its leaves, it extends the autumn season for a few more weeks. It is getting huge, however, so if you plant one, expect a giant.

Cupressus macrocarpa (either 'Donard Gold' or 'Golden Pillar) still looks bright even in fog. I love how these look on the southern edge of our property now that they are large enough to be seen from inside our home. They help to enclose the garden a little.

Symphoricarpos albus, our native snowberry, popping against warm yellows of Physocarpus capitatus, ninebark. Usually the birds eat these berries last when all others have gone, but this year they are gobbling them up quickly.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Blue Feathers' sparkles with heavy dew.

Physocarpus capitatus, our native Pacific ninebark does indeed have lovely autumn colors. I note that this as well as Lonicera involucrata (twinberry) and ribes species have been the last to change color and the last to drop their leaves.

Ribes hirtellum 'Captivator' - gooseberry - had lovely autumn coloration too, as did our native Ribes sanguineum, all the ribes had exceptional color this year that is just ending now, another late-season shrub for color.

The end of the year fig photo - I cry a little when I see this because I adore ripe figs, something these will never be. I should not complain, though, as I did gorge myself earlier this autumn on a daily basis with perfectly ripe figs.

Just a few lazy containers by our front door. My container philosophy is sloppy and simple - I usually only plant one kind of plant per container and there it stays for all eternity. I just don't have time to fuss with changing things out every year and also bringing tender plants inside for the winter. I do freshen potting soil from time to time but really, it's a minimalistic approach and plants have to be super hardy to be in a pot here.

An unidentified eucalyptus, given to us by a friend who rescued it from her neighbor, creates an interesting silhouette in the fog.

Salvia 'Celestial Blue' never did bloom for me this year but I love its form and the photos online of its flowers are amazing, so I am crossing my fingers.

Some of FM's tripods in the meadow garden. Song birds love perching on these while they scan the grasses and flowers below that have gone to seed.

A pair of Hebe pinguifolia 'Sutherlandii' look as if they have been shaped with clippers. 

Miscanthus 'Cabaret' in the background is short and stout this year, just now turning beautiful shades of gold, yellow and green. They don't receive supplemental summer water and that probably helps them stay this way. Muhlenbergia rigens in the foreground.

Dorycnium hirsutum, hairy canary clover with a background of Hebe 'Karo Golden Esk'. I had a visitor once describe my garden as silver and green, I suppose this encapsulates that description.

Saijo persimmons, the leftovers for the birds.

Floppy Hydrangea macrophylla (a blue flowered form) with Miscanthus 'Cabaret' behind it. This year these received less than a quarter of the water they usually do and they were pretty happy. They are heavily mulched (can't see in this photo) with wood chips and are also pruned hard to keep them a little smaller in size. I thought for sure these would be long gone in my summer dry garden, but FM loves them and frankly the maintenance has been so much less since the heavy mulching and hard pruning.

Gardenia 'Frostproof' has made a good recovery from its spring damage:

Here it is in May of this year after what was an exceptionally cool, wet spring. Usually it is indeed frost proof and evergreen, this is the first time it defoliated. As with most plants, usually a little patience yields some kind of recovery. I left it to do what it wanted and happily it recovered.

Closing out this post with a shot of the edge of the labyrinth garden, with a new area! FM used the sod cutter to create more garden space and extend the gravel out by about 4' wide by 20' long. I am very excited about this for the "grass" goes completely dormant by July and is basically bare soil with a few weeds, so we are slowly claiming more garden space and less sod. This is also one of the sunniest, hottest areas in the garden so lots of possibilities.

All in all this autumn has been mellow and kind to us. While, yes, December has been exceptionally wet, it's the wettest month of the year so we expect it. Earlier this autumn we were able to check off many small garden projects and do a fair amount of canning and preserving of food, as well as expand the garden in areas such as this one. 

Besides our year-round bird residents, more wild birds are now here in droves (pine siskins and juncos, I'm looking at you), settling in for the winter, for they know they will be well taken care of. Critters are everywhere too, and while their antics can be frustrating we also enjoy the diversity of wildlife. All that's left to do now is plan the veggie garden for next year, draw up my maps and keep on propagating for spring plant sales. The work never really ends but it has slowed down and we're getting cozy with the kitties. We're ready for a little break as we roll into the new year. How about you? Have your garden chores come to a close for the year? Do tell, we love sharing stories.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens, as always thank you so much for reading and commenting, we love hearing from you! Happy gardening!