Thoughts at Fall
In late October here at the
farm,
when the temperature plunges into the twenties at night and the grass
is
hidden in a blanket of discarded leaves and the trees and shrubs are
stark
looking and bare and most of the perennials, like the swath of Shasta
Daisies
shown above in midsummer, have turned into a swath of dead stalks, it's
comforting
to remember that next spring will bring life again, often exuberant
life.
There is one variety of shrub out there that's still hanging on to life, however – the Hydrangea 'Annabelle' – and it's one of my favorite whites, not only through the summer, but on through the fall and winter.
Below – with our gardener
of
three years, Shirlaine Zeyer – is one specimen of this long border of
shrubs
which was 
then, in midsummer,
just starting to come into full bloom. These flower heads
can grow from the size shown to up to twelve inches across. From the
dazzling
white of summer, these enormous heads fade to green as fall approaches,
then
fade further to brown as the winter snows begin. In early spring, we
cut
their stems down to within six or eight inches of the ground. Shoots
begin
breaking through shortly thereafter, and off they go again, bigger and
better
than ever.
White Roses
The biggest garden excitement here, though, is the June into July rose bloom. We have some three hundred varieties of roses in the garden, the largest number of them antiques that bloom only once in early summer – a bloom, however, that is truly spectacular. In addition, we have a number of Austin's English roses, some twenty Old Garden Roses, several albas, rugosas, moss roses, some newer varieties of the English Rose type, and many modern shrub roses and groundcover roses, all of which bloom periodically throughout the summer.
Of the groundcover class,
one
of the most rewarding is the planting of the Rosa Meidiland
'Alba'
groundcover
roses that fills a
ten by fifteen foot spot in front of the parlor windows and spills over
the brick walks surrounding it. After being pruned down to
within five or ten inches of the ground in early spring, these plants
burst
into new growth as soon as the weather warms, sending up long, flexible
canes
that arch into a bed some three feet high. By the end of June, the
canes
are literally smothered in a breathtaking show of dainty white flowers
(shown
at right), each measuring an inch across. These lovely blooms stay
fresh
and white for many weeks. In our northern Utah climate, this first show
is
followed by several more flushes, each slightly less heavy than the one
before,
but continuing through October and, at times, into early November.
White Columbine
Also in early summer, we have
a
nice show of Columbine (Aquiligea species) of
various
types, among which – I was delighted to discover – appeared
spontaneously
a number of whites and near-whites (one plant is shown at above left).
Rocky
Mountain Columbine (Aquilegea caerulea) is the state
flower
of Colorado with big, startingly blue and white flowers. It's hardy
into
Zone 3, and happiest in the cooler, higher areas of the west. The first
few
we planted, when finally established, hybridized into lovely darker
blues
and even pinks, as well as the surprising whites. They seem to be
happiest
here under high shade trees, nodding shyly from behind trunks and the
limbs
of shrubs, though they can take a good bit of sun here at 4500 feet.
Last spring we included with them several plants of the 'Swallowtail' Columbine, a type propagated by David Salman of High Country Gardens. David used seed supplied by Sally and Tim Walker of Tucson, who found a colony of them in an isolated Arizona canyon. I'm looking forward to watching them grow and multiply. This type of Columbine is zoned at 5-10 by High Country Gardens, and we're on the border of five and four, but I've planted them in a south-facing bed under some tall trees, so I'm sure they'll thrive. Whether they will hybridize with the other types and wipe out our whites remains to be seen.
A Kind of Namesake
Another special white for
me
is the Daylily 'Joan Senior,' two plants of 
which
were given to
me for my birthday by my daughter, Melanie. Shown here at right during
their second year are some of the big, creamy white blossoms that kept
coming and coming for something like a month.
Another Gift
Below is a surprise offering
for
us, supplied by our cohort of birds roosting (and digesting) above a
moist
bit of ground next to a tall Marshall Seedless Ash –
an Elderberry. We first
noticed
it a couple of years ago, growing up in the middle of a pink Bridal
Wreath,
and gave up trying to get it out. Now it resembles a small,
many-trunked
tree and had a lovely crop of white, plate-sized flower heads this
summer
and last. So far, the Bridal Wreath seems to be holding up under the
onslaught.
Indeed, it seems to be thriving around the Elderberry's legs.
At this point, in early Semptember, the Elderberry is bent down with flat plates of berries which I'm not much interested in making into (more!) jam. Perhaps next year I'll try it, though Alan, my husband, is lobbying for Elderberry Wine. Birds are said to be fond of Elderberries, but so far, they appeared to have ignored ours.
We've come to the conclusion that the plant is most likely the common American Elder, Sambucus canadensis . We have common American Elder growing in the canyons here, so the birds could have brought it down from there. It could also be one of the improved cultivars of American Elder, planted perhaps by a nearby neighbor. Cultivars of American Elder are offered by many nurseries.
Meanwhile, the nights, needless to say (it's September, after all), are getting longer, and also much, much cooler. Soon the Elderberry, many of the roses, and the 'Annabelle' Hydrangea border will be showing orange and yellow leaves. Different seasons, as we all know only too well, bring different colors.
Joan Katherine Shaw
September 2002
Credits:
All photos by Joan K.
Shaw
Sources for roses, shrubs and perennials:
High Country Roses
Heirloom
Roses
Vintage
Gardens
Antique
Rose Emporium
Royall
River Roses
White
Flower Farm
Wayside
Gardens
Perennials for American Gardens , Clauson and Ekstrom (This is a must-have for serious gardeners. Clear, concise, and well-referenced, I check through it all the time)
Taylor's Guide to Perennials, Barbara Ellis (Another great book. The Taylor's Guides are always excellent, especially for beginning gardeners)
Perennials: The Definitive Reference with over 2,500 Photographs, Phillips and Rix (Here is a terrific book that you'll spend hours pouring over. Great for a gift, too. I'm planning on giving one to a young horticultural student for Christmas)
Encyclopedia of Shade Perennials, W. George Schmid (Shade gardening doesn't have to be all green -- there are beautiful colors inside this book to brighten any shady garden)
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials, Phillips and Burell (The Rodale people are famous for organic, no-chemical gardening books)
Armitage's Garden Perennials: A Color Encyclopedia, Allan M. Armitage (Here's the definitive work for choosing color in your garden. It has loads of color photographs)
Growing Perennials in Cold Climates, Mike Heger, et al. (A wonderful book for people having a frustrating time in the northern and mountain areas of the country)
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Clematis, Mary Toomey, et al. (This is, simply, a beautiful book, and a storehouse of information on varieties of this lovely group)
And Roses:
The Companion to Roses - a fascinating source book for both botanical information and the lore of legends; it's one of my favorite reference works on rose culture and history
The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book - a distillation of the world-famous rosarian's knowledge of the world of roses. Truly a treasure of information, drawings, and photographs
Classic Roses by Peter Beales - this is a book that, if you've declared a moratorium on buying any more roses, you should never open. Wonderfully erudite, yet easy to read, and filled with some of the best rose photography I've ever seen. Beales talks about roses here as part of the garden rather than as isolated plants
The Ultimate Rose Book - A sumptuous collection of more than 1600 roses with their full color photographs, descriptions, breeders, and years of introduction
Click to enter
American Rose Society site
Link for browsing for gardening books:
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