CARNIVAL of COLOR
An October stroll through the woods, or into the country should revel Mother Natures
"carnival of colors". The trees are ablaze in their beautiful autumn foliage, bidding farewell to another summer.
Looking at the awesome beauty surrounding you, one can better understand what Isaiah must have meant by "the mountains and the
hills shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands".
Almost everyone enjoys the yellows, reds, oranges and purple hues of the autumn leaves, but do you know and understand what causes them to change color and eventually drop from the trees?
Do you want to LEARN MORE
SPRING CHARMERS
You still have time to plant some Anemone blanda or Iris reticulata this fall. Both of these spring bloomers require a well-drained, loamy soil,
and are perfect for grouping in soil pockets around rock outcroppings or around shade trees.
Anemone blanda grow from tuberous roots planted about 3-4 inches deep. The true species have bright blue flowers, but a number of the newer
varieties are available in colors ranging from rose, light blue, to almost snow white flowers.
The Iris reticulata's poke up from the ground soon after the snows have melted, and are sometimes a surprise to those who have never grown them before. Plant bulbs
shallow and covered lightly with mulch after the ground has frozen.
FALSE SPRING
Some years when there are unusual warm spells in the fall, it is not uncommon to see a few of your spring-flowering trees and shrubs burst into flower. Forsythia
and Azaleas, especially, do this.
What happens is that their buds are quite exposed and respond to the warm sun. Of course the ones that bloom now won't rebloom in the spring, but not to worry, there are millions of other buds waiting for spring.
MIGHTY OAKS
If you have any squirrels or chipmunks around your home, chances are they are pretty busy these days gathering up acorns and storing them for their winter meals. Acorns of course are the seeds of the mighty oaks.
Oaks grouped as white oaks ripen their acorns in one year, they include the swamp-white, turkey, chinkapin, post, chestnut oak and white oak. All of the these oaks have lobes that are rounded on the ends, and the leaf buds have blunt tips.
Oaks grouped as black oaks require at least two years to mature their seeds. This group consists of the scarlet, willow, pin and black oak. Their leaves have spurs or bristles at the tips of the lobes and the leaf buds have pointed tips.
SUNFLOWERS
Lots of people grow gigantic sunflowers, some people grow them for the novelty, others for the seed, and still others that just enjoy them in the back of beds and borders.
By now most sunflowers should be setting seed, so its time to cut them down and dry the heads for winter use. Although the birds may be pecking at them now, they will be much more appreciated if saved for the cold winter months.
SHOOTING PISTOL PODS
In October, the witch-hazel carries"loaded pistols". They are the ripe seed-pods of last years flowers. Each pod contains two long black seeds that are very hard and rigid.
The seeds are exposed after the ripe pods split in the frost. As the pod dries it contracts even more, and then suddenly it expels both its bullets with surprising force.
That force can propel the seeds to a distance of 30-40 feet. Using this method, the witch-hazel can secure a wider distribution of its seeds.
