Fabulous October

I love October on the Island.

We live in rural area on 8 forested acres with 3 dominant old trees: Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Western Red cedar and Arbutus menziesii (Pacific Madrona)

General view from our deck and also dining room and kitchen in October

During the summer our views are mainly green until October when our Bigleaf maples (Acer macrophyllum) start to shine.

This tree is native to this area and extremely fast grower. I am their big fan but my OH is not. Over the time some mysteriously disappeared.

It is the largest maple species in North America. Their leaves can be over 12″ wide

View in front, over the fountain and the lawn towards SE . Bigleaf maples here are framed by Western Red Cedar trees.

Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) on a retaining wall in October

It is not a true ivy, it belongs to the same family as grapes. It looses all the leaves after this spectacular colour in October

a detail of leaves

We also have several Japanese maples around. Some in the ground, some in pots.

Japanese maple Crimson Queen will eventually turn fiery orange. Potted Osakazuki in the distnce

Japanese maple Atropurpureum

Young Fern-Leaf Maple Aconitifolium ‘Maiku jaku’ or dancing peacock

in Early October

Late October

JM ‘Sango-kaku (Coral bark)…. leaves in October
This maple puts on real show in winter with it’s orange branches. Such dominant presence in winter.

Japanese maple Joardan
This maple has vivid chartreuse leaves in early spring.

–

Japanese maple Butterfly can brighten the darker spot

Japanese maple Osakazuki in the pot

–

Shin-deshojo Japanese maple.
The best colour of this tree is in the spring…not fall but still pretty at this time of the year.

Lacy Japanese maple Villa Toranto

Down in the valley (few hundred feet from our house toward the ocean) I grow some grapes ….for birds mainly.
Had few more plants in the past, but it is deer’s favourite snack.
Right now the colour of their leaves is bright yellow. There is also a small orchard which is lovely sight in the early spring.

Ortega grapes:

15 years ago I planted a crab apple tree Red sentinel on edge of the forest . Unfortunately, none of my birds care for it.
Not even squirrels, they like big apples. So it is there just looking pretty. I make crab apple jelly ones in a blue moon.
It is a huge tree now.

Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Mariesii’
This is very visible tree on the property right at the end of our driveway coming down.
It is beautiful in both seasons, when it is blooming and when the leaves turn red.

Another view on a rainy day

Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ (Redbud) with a Bigleaf maple behind. I do not have luck with this beautiful tree.
So far so good but every spring I hold my breath as they sleep longer than most other trees.

Heart shape leaf detail

I put Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) at the beginning of a forest path. I left it in a pot because of massive roots of a large fir
….it is mostly invisible during summer but shines there in October

Small Orchard by the greenhouse (potting hut) with Bigleaf maple trees shining through

Leaves of Cornus Florida Cherokee chief.
Also beautiful in spring when flowering..

Colourful fallen leaves of maple and ornamental plum

Changing leaves of Cercidiphyllum japonicum ‘Red Fox’
This tree is changing colour of it’s leaves few times during the year and smells like a burning sugar when the leaves are starting to fall.

–

Changing colour.….Leaf Detail

Cotinus (Smoke bush) has a glorious color in October

And our colourful garden friends
Downy woodpecker

The Steller Jay with its deep blue and black plumage and shaggy crest is a stunning and attractive bird, but very noisy. A pair of them fully adopted us.

Anna’s hummingbirds stay with us all winter.

I have few flowers still blooming but for me OCTOBER is all about changing leaf colours.
I just wish the rains would stay away for couple more weeks.

Time for making apple pies

October is my second favourite month of the year . MAY being the first.
-——————————————————————————-

“I am so glad I live in a world where are Octobers”

L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables

End of Summer 2020 in the garden

Summer is over. We got our first serious rain on Vancouver Island and somehow it feels like real fall is in the air.
I do like this time of the year. we have more colour around than in the early summer. Astilbe still blooming

Dahlias, few roses are blooming again, cosmos, zinnias, mums , asters and colchicums are poking out.

red dahlias

Dahlia Tsuki-Yori-No-Shisha

Dahlia Lake Ontario

red unknown rose

Beautiful rose Solitaire

white cosmos blooming way into fall

tall zinnias

I also planted some tall gladioli in different colours this year. There is a symphony of colours out there.

Roses looked good this summer and bloomed for long time

Purple mums

purple zinnia

Some of these plants I mentioned are not favoured by deer.
We live in the wooded area full of these animals…so, I mention them often. They used to frustrate me but not any more.
I just learned to live with them even if it means that I cannot grow plants i’d like. Took me a while though.
From time to time they strip a plant which they other times ignore..

=======
One of my star plants this summer was a fennel. It grew into a graceful large clump.

Fennel

fennel with crocosmia -detail

I use it in cooking only on occasion but love to see it in the garden shining in the sun and even smell it when walking by.

======

Then I was amazed by hydrangea Chique. These plants are my OH favorite plants. We usually buy one in spring from department store for him to enjoy during summer and then when finished I just toss it in the bin.
This little beauty never made it in the bin, it was forgotten and after couple of years decided to bloom. I was quite taken by it.

I also decided to buy few lilies even if deer likes them. I was determined to protect them.
They bloom for relatively long time. Some on the deck.

Pink lily Elodie

Huge flowers on these white lilies

Tall tree lily in the garden

yellow day lilies that I have for many years

And of course every year my colchicums come in large numbers and they last until the first rain starts. They are very delicate and the rain will ruin them.

My experience with tomatoes this summer was a complete disaster. I started seeds late as seed mailing company did not mail them until late June. I ordered in February. I decided to go for it anyway.

All seeds germinated and seedlings looked strong and healthy. I ended up with 40 little plants.

Soon plenty of flowers appeared and tomatoes started to form in large numbers.

Early tomato alley

pretty exciting,… first tomatoes

Roma tomatoes developing nicely

Then in middle of September sun was getting behind our big firs and the limited sunshine and heavy dew caused them to wilt and die prematurely.

Picked the few not affected and dumped the rest.

The END… of my tomatoes experiment

I will start them next year again. Not in the same numbers. I already have seeds of several different varieties and will start them in March in my greenhouse.

Days are getting shorter and the garden is winding down for this year. Soon will come lots of tidying, leaf raking and pruning and in the spring we will start all over.

Resident Barred owl