September Arbutus

Our solitary wild arbutus cluster experienced a difficult year.  Its location is poor at best.  Nestled among waste stones, this area was scraped by a bulldozer more than half a century ago when the gravel bank was first opened.  Early this Spring, very little of the arbutus displayed any growth at all.  I was certain that we had lost it.  Now I believe that it received a visit from a hungry woodchuck just breaking hibernation.  Only evergreen plants show growth at that time of year and so they are at risk of being eaten.  This ground is so uneven that I can find no workable way to cover the plant with a cage.  The plant did an admirable job of reestablishing itself over the Summer but no flower buds were seen today.

This new from seed plant has a flower bud and impressive leaves.  The possibility of flowers on last year's baby is exciting.  There was no sign of any new plants this year.  The carefully watched female flower parts showed no sign of any seed.  They must not have been pollinated.  We do not know what insect is responsible for arbutus pollination.  Early Spring weather must not have favored them this year.

 
Our known to be female plant has several clusters of flower buds.  Three distinct groups can be found in this picture.  Forming flower buds ahead of Winter seems unwise to me but how else would they be ready for their early Spring opening.  Finding so many bud clusters today has me really looking forward to next Spring.

We will close with this group portrait.  The from seed baby plant that appeared last year is at the top center of the picture.  The female plant is located where 10 o'clock would be found on the face of a clock.  The four transplanted arbutus and the from seed new plant form an impressive cluster.  With any luck, these plants will be loaded with flowers come Spring.

Asleep At The Switch

Ed and I both spent some time in the garden this morning.  It was pleasantly cool.  I even came back inside the house to get a sweatshirt.  We were having a great time collecting our morning bucket of weeds.  Ed worked on the tomatoes picking the red ones and placing them in the basement.  The big flock of turkeys was chased from the garden several times. They even come around while Ed is working in the garden. We should have been aware of what was going on around us.  Hummingbirds seen just the other day were not around.  The meadows around us are yellow with goldenrod.  The morning went by very fast and when I came in to make lunch I opened the windows to enjoy the cool air.  After lunch I joined Ed for a short nap.  It was the sound of the generator that awakened us.   Our power had gone out.  It was George, one of my neighbors who broke the news that frost was expected tonight.  "Clear with a low around 36 with north winds 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight" was the forecast.  We have been enjoying first frosts in October for several years now.    We did have a September frost in 2012 but it was September 24.

It's a good thing we were rested up.  I went out and cut some basil to freeze while Ed began the process of potting up our tender plants.  The lemon grass in the first picture can't take any frost so they were first in line for the fast move to the basement.  The lemon verbenas came next .

The remainder of the week looks good, but tonight Ed's latest lettuce plants  will escape the cold in the basement.  They are still in pots because so far he only intended to set them out.  Sometimes there is a benefit to not getting a job done.

Our second planting of summer squash and zucchini is just starting to produce.  We covered them, although you can tell from the shadows the sun was already sinking fast in the West.

I picked the largest peppers and then we covered the peppers and basil with old sheets.  We will see if the frost actually arrives tonight.  We were asleep at the switch.  There were plenty of signs right in front of our noses.  We just didn't read them!

PS: Although it was a cool and starry night, the frost didn't happen.  I think we are awake now!