Good title. First thought: I need to get into the garden and take autumn cuttings, especially of plants that might not survive a bad winter. But there is much more to it than that.
For weeks I’ve been eyeing autumn’s slow approach, a sunny lightening of the leaves long before it could be called yellow. Time to blog about autumn. Time to blog. And gradually the yellows grew and were joined by reds. These two photos I took this morning, the first framed by our exclamation marks, from the guest room. After several cold nights autumn is well and truly upon us.
The Tulip Trees march up The Avenue, and on the road below them the Silver Maples are red. Where did the summer go? Has there ever been a summer where I was so absent from my garden? At the beginning of summer I bought MountainGetaways, and we published the first magazine just after I finished my teaching career. This year I learnt all about webpage design and rebuilt the website from scratch. And we published the second magazine. This month we relaunched the website – and those who are observant will notice the new logo up in the top right corner of my blog, which will take you to the site.
Here is a picture from late March. March was an amazing month on the blog. I posted the grand total of two posts – never before so few in a month. Yet I had almost exactly 50% more traffic than in my second best month ever, and that was two years ago. It seems the more the host is absent, the more the visitors come to stay… There’s a conundrum for you!
I have posted pics of this very plant before, but always in winter. It is Leonitus ocymifolia. It is about time for a flowery view on it. (This, by the way, was intended for a Wildflower Wednesday post – about ten days ago…)
Like most of the wildings I post on, it really grows wild on Sequoia. This one just happened to have been moved into the garden twenty odd years ago. It is a great joy.
There. Not too many words. I am tired; supremely, happily tired. I shall post this and then sit back tonight with my new book –the biography Christopher Lloyd – His life at Great Dixter.
April 7, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Part of the solution to your conundrum – may be loyal readers checking to make QUITE sure you haven’t put up a new post. I have you in my G Reader, so I’ll just wait, patiently.
April 7, 2012 at 9:54 pm
(PS had to go to your home page. As I read your new post, on its own URL, there is no logo to click.)
April 8, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Your Leonitus ocymifolia is an amazingly wonderful orange! Love it…gail
April 9, 2012 at 7:52 am
Isn’t it just, Gail! Interesting that we have two vivid oranges flowering in late summer: this and Crocodile aurea, pure orange being quote scarce. Guess I should get them together!
April 9, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Ever helpful blackberry… that should have read Crocosmia aurea!
April 17, 2012 at 2:03 am
Jack, Sometimes blogging has to take a back seat to living — and this year has been an exciting one for you. There’ll be time to get back to blogging more when you have your new business well underway.
I love that top photo with the flaming red foliage framed between the gum trees. Autumn is my favorite season (since it’s extra special in my native New England), but I’m happy to be enjoying the Mid-Atlantic states’ version of spring right now. -Jean
April 18, 2012 at 7:51 pm
I must admit, Jean, that I’m only too pleased to know that my blog is doing well, and that serious searchers can find plenty of material, for I really don;t have the inclination to blog more regularly. Still – the late winter voyeurism must be over by now, and I’d love to know why my blog is so popular… If I look at the country stats then roughly 50% of views are from the USA, 25% from South Africa and 25% from elsewhere. Since garden bloggers are few and far between here, at least 20% of visits must be business related. But that leaves 30% of visits as plain ‘growth’. All very interesting.
April 17, 2012 at 5:41 am
So much going on for you in your life and in your autumn gardens! I am always playing catch up with my own blogging, it seems. As our days grow warmer and more humid, I am reminded that hot summer is coming soon. I will think about you with your opposite seasons!
June 30, 2012 at 9:13 am
[...] Leonitus ocynifolia has featured before, in summer and in winter – interestingly in a much more colourful post after rain, exactly two years ago. [...]