Late September 2007

The first day of fall was absolutely gorgeous, it may have started with some overcast but by the time noon rolled around that had changed and we had just a fabulous afternoon and evening. We ended up planting a bunch of last year's spring bulbs in pots for early colour next spring, plus we had some bearded Iris that needed potting up in size to 2 gallons pots.

It may be somewhat late -and that would be because they were planted late- but there are still some OT lilies in bloom, like this 'Zagora' for instance.

There are plenty of signs of senescence of Hostas, but most of the minis we have are still looking quite nice, such as this 'Fresh' for example, which is proving to be just a wonderful $5.00 find!

Blue Mouse Ears is still making a good showing and I have a Feather Boa division that is putting up a new scape this late in the season!

My first year Hosta plantaginea Venus has three scapes with buds on it. No need to tell you its late in the season, even for a plantaginea, and it'll be touch and go as whether or not I'll actually see the plant in bloom before senescence sets in. All I can do is wait and see, and keep my fingers crossed.

However, I'm afraid I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for a while. I took a closer look at the buds on the 26th and unfortunately it looks as if I'm seeing the first effects of fall in this plant: a couple of leaves are turning brown at the edges and all of the tips of the buds are going brown as well. So, it is starting to look as if I won't see it in bloom this year. Sad but likely very true. It's good to know though that for me in its first year it was a ready bloomer, that makes me look even more forward to the next and confirm that indeed this is Venus and not just the nominate species, Hosta plantaginea.