Calm Before the Storm

We had a big windstorm last week that blew pretty much all the beautiful fall foliage to the ground.  Luckily I took some pictures of the garden in its fall color prime before the storm.

Brilliant blueberries.  If I remember correctly (which isn't as likely as I would like it to be), these are 'Jersey' blueberries.

This is about as ripe as the bananas are going to get!

Musa basjoo

Had I watered this Himalayan raspberry over the summer, it would be looking a bit more presentable.  Yes, the berries are edible.  They are pretty good - they taste like apples.

Rubus lineatus

Maybe I should make some figgy pudding?

Ficus carica

Hydrophobia at work on the leaves of Melianthus major.

Melianthus major

Melianthus major

A Red-foliaged Castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) extends the season up until the first hard frost.  This one is 10' tall and still looking fantastic heading into mid-November.  I order the seeds online and plant them directly in the ground in a sunny spot with good soil in mid-April.

Ricinus communis 'Carmencita'

The greenhouse is filled to the brim.  The white flower on the left is a brugmansia (Angel's trumpet).  The pink-flowered (actually pink-bracted) plant on the right is Bougainvillea glabra.

Here's hoping my next post is not of me wrapping Christmas lights and blankets around all the borderline-subtropical plants before an impending arctic freeze!!!

I'm Not Dead Yet!

Komo News weatherman Scott Sistek made an interesting point about our recent weather.  In the past 75 days, it has rained on 68 of those days.  The 75 days prior to that (Oct. 12 to July 30) was the exact opposite: Mostly sunny on 68 of the 75 days.  In other words, if you're going to visit Seattle, visit in summer when it's not raining every day.  You can read his article here.

The good news about all this rain is there haven't been any "arctic express" events so far.  There haven't even been any light freezes to speak of - just a couple nights getting down to about 30F/-1C.  And as long as the jet stream keeps flowing our way, it will ward off any bad arctic air so I'm completely fine with it raining for the next two months.  Here is a sign of just how mild it has been around here:

Hydrangea macrophylla on December 27th, 2012

Some not-really-hardy subtropical plants get left outside all winter just to see if they will make it.  There also wasn't any room in the greenhouse so bringing them in wasn't really an option.  I did get a lot of cuttings just in case.  But so far, this Brugmansia is doing just fine:

Bare Brugmansia

This Castor Bean plant is probably a bit closer to death, but still hanging on!

Ricinus communis 'Carmencita red'

This potted Bearss Lime (Citrus × latifolia) blends in so well with its surroundings I neglected to take it in, yet it doesn't seem phased in the least by the cold.  I will probably try to get this acclimated to the greenhouse just to keep it happy.

Citrus × latifolia

The two species of hardy cyclamen in the garden are both in bloom right now.  Here is Cyclamen hederifolium:

Cyclamen hederifolium

And Cyclamen coum:

Cyclamen coum

Plants with great evergreen foliage also really shine this time of year seeing as there is less foliage to go around in the garden.

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Barry's silver'

Rubus lineatus

Clockwise from left: Melianthus major, Arbutus unedo, Schefflera brevipedunculata

And finally, a plant geek's plant if there ever was one: Brassica oleracea var. longata or Walking Stick Kale.  It was planted almost two years ago from seed and looks primed to put on a ton of growth in the spring.  It's already six feet tall and will hopefully get to 10 feet before going to seed.

Brassica oleracea var. longata