The Season Has Changed

It seemed to happen overnight—light comes later in the morning and darkness earlier in the evening. Colchicums brighten the boxwood border and the woods are filled with cyclamen flowers.  The first sight of colchicum flowers is the perfect time to move and divide their corms.  Colchicums seem out of sync with most bulbous plants.  They bloom before they make their roots, so they will settle into another site quickly.  Flowers continue to open and roots appear shortly thereafter with no disturbance. Our attention turns to the woods and, although we still have much to do in the sunny gardens and nursery, we spend the hot afternoons in the shade pulling microstegium.  We have made progress eliminating that pesky grass in several areas in the garden by pulling it out before it goes to seed.  After we first cleaned off the snowdrop woods, we began on the ridges beyond.  When we find bulbs above the soil we plant them in a new place.  Nyssa sylvatica, the tupelo, or black gum tree, already has a few brilliant red leaves and we continue to prune and shape up some of the smaller trees, including corylopsis, hamamelis, and loropetalum.  Visitors are welcome now that the sunny gardens have matured and tender plants, set in place in June and July, have settled in with fresh new leaves and flowers.  Many of our pots and urns planted with tender plants finally look as we hoped they would. Although we prepare for the approach of Hurricane Florence, we continue to work as if tomorrow will be as pleasant as today.