Red and butter
Aside from the red roses I showed you yesterday, the red Autumn sage (Salvia greggii ) is also blooming. Not as prolifically, mind you, but there’s some color. The skittish sulphur butterflies continue to flutter in for its nectar.
This airy, little plant was growing under the Texas persimmon when we moved here. It’s called ‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia, and I quite like it. It has the texture of baby’s breath, and it enjoys the shade of the still-green persimmon. Hidden in the middle of the raised bed, it was easy to overlook, so I moved it up to the front.
This has been Austin’s best year for fall color that I’ve seen in my 14 years here. All around town the cedar elms and sumacs glow yellow, the pecans golden, and the red oaks crimson. My own new garden is mostly evergreen with live oaks, but this Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa ), a native understory tree, is delighting me with its cloak of buttery yellow. This is how it looked a week ago, before Thanksgiving.
And today, even more buttery.
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Hi Pam, A very nice buttery color it is! It looks especially lovely with the garden chairs and all the fantastic limestone:) Your new baby garden is coming along nicely. Gail
Thanks, Gail. But the only thing I’ve added to the scenes pictured here are the chairs, the red salvia, and the dwarf palmetto under the Mexican buckeye. As for the rest, I’m just enjoying what was already here. —Pam
Your Mexican buckeye is delightful indeed, Pam. Lovely in both green and yellow shades.
I brought my Diamond Frost euphorbia inside and it’s looking very pretty. I had it in a couple of containers this past summer and thought it added a nice, airy touch. I love all the salvias that you southern girls grow and am determined to have some in my garden next year! I planted Gentian sage (salvia patens) too late last summer for blooms to develop. I’ll keep trying.
Love those beautiful red roses that are still providing color for you, and lucky you to have 58º. Now that sounds good!
I hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving celebration.
Thanks, Kerri. I hope you enjoyed the holiday too. Good luck with your salvia experimentation. I know you’ll find some that will work in your northern garden. —Pam
I’m so jealous that you still have butterflies! The buckeye sure did change colors fast. Hmmmmm… looking at your new garden I’m thinking you may have too many rocks. I should probably take a road trip to Texas and haul them off for you. I’ll store them in my garden until we can think of a proper way to dispose of them.*wink* 🙂
Please do make a road trip, Randy. Tell you what—I’ll give you a call when I’ve got to dig a big hole, and you can come dig it out for me. 😉 —Pam
Great photos! The salvia closeup is a very good shot. I can definitely see why you like that buckeye, the color is perfect!
Thanks, Dave! I’m glad you enjoyed the colors too. —Pam
Thanks for introducing me to ‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia. It looks really nice. Do you know what kind of growing requirements it has?
Mexican buckeye is one of my favorite native Texas trees. I especially love when the seed pods continue to hang on.
I wonder if the drought you all experienced is partially responsible for the great fall colors??
Hi, Jean. I was just introduced to ‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia myself, so if you look it up online, you’ll know as much as I do. It’s growing in shade in my garden and handled the transplant with no sulking. I think it’s pretty tough, but I’m not sure how cold-hardy it is.
I’ve been wondering whether the drought contributed to the great fall color too. I’d always thought one wanted summer rain and a cool, dry fall for good color, but apparently not. —Pam
It must be interesting with a new garden to see what will appear – my garden was a real disappointment as the previous owners hadn’t planted anything apart from a few conifers
My old garden was a blank slate too, Helen, and I was glad. I wanted to make all the choices myself. But the new place has a lot of lovely native plants, and I’m looking forward to incorporating them into a new garden. —Pam
Nice colors Pam. That little Diamond Frost is a plant I just love but grow it as an annual. It holds up to much mistreatment in the garden.
It’s dainty looking, but I’m glad to know it’s tough. I don’t do much pampering. —Pam
Diamond Frost is added to poinsettia arrangements for the holiday here and in containers as a nice annual addition. How long will this last in your garden? If perennial, you are lucky. Red roses in December? Must be in Austin! Love your book review also.
I bet the white-blooming euphorbia looks lovely in Xmas arrangements. But does the typical euphorbia sap cause any irritation for people when arranging, I wonder? I don’t know how long it will last here, but I’ll make follow-up reports. —Pam
That chair looks like a lovely place for a cup of tea and a look at the beautiful autumn colors!
Yes, it’s a nice spot to relax, IF. If only I could make myself sit and relax more often. 😉 —Pam
I’ve wondered what the Mexican Buckeye was–I’ve been seeing a lot of them around town. I really like the way they look. I agree with you–this fall has been one of the best I have ever seen in Austin. I am enjoying it so much.
The leaves really seem to be coming down now, but I’ve so enjoyed the color this year. —Pam
This has been our prettiest year I remember in my four years here for fall color. But last night we got a big freeze. I’m so sad to see some of the plants succumb to the winter weather!
Brenda
At least winter is brief in Texas, right, Brenda? You’ll be admiring flowers through your new French doors in just a few months. —Pam
The buckeye and salvia are beautiful! You have such a nice, long growing season.
I used to go to Austin quite often on business when I was an IT manager for SAS. Between our regional office there and Dell Computer, I had to go to a lot of meetings in Austin. I never got to spend enough time there outside offices. Dell took us out to see the wildflowers at the LadyBJ park one time. Beautiful!
Cameron
I’m glad you got to see the wildflowers at the Wildflower Center, Cameron. That was one of our stops during the Spring Fling last April. Austin has many wonderful little gardens and fantastic nurseries, so if you’re ever in town again, you’ll have plenty to do. —Pam
Pam, love your new garden, the plants and the rocks. One thing that surprises me is how often our weather patterns are the same. We have had the best autumn colour ever here in England, it has been amazing, we had a wet summer. I know our Canadian friends have said the snow has been early this year and it seems to be a similar here in the North and Scotland. They both have a lot more snow forecast for tonight, thank goodness it hasn’t reached the south of England but it would be nice to see the garden covered with white – briefly please!
Best wishes Sylvia (England)
Hi, Sylvia. I keep hearing about everyone’s fantastic fall color, regardless of where they live. All the trees seem to have synched up this year.
Here’s to brief snow! —Pam
I can’t speak for Austin, but I am becoming increasingly convinced that the worse the summer is, the better the fall foliage colors are. We have had two awful summers in a row, one was dry and very hot, the other just dry and in each subsequent fall it has been a riot of long lasting color.
It’s interesting to speculate, isn’t it? We certainly had a hot, dry summer this year, so your theory works for Austin. —Pam
What was it about this year that it seems like it was GLOBALLY the best color year?! Everybody’s talking about it! And it’s very cool that we get to enjoy your extended season now that we’re fully into winter (aside from the snow part) here in RI at least. That little euphorb is a sweetie – it came “out” (kind of like a debutante) here as a must-have annual for containers a couple of years ago.
It’s funny to think of plants as “coming out,” but certain ones do have their day in the sun, so to speak. I hadn’t heard the news, but it was a pleasant discovery in the new garden. —Pam
This is my second year for Diamond Frost.(zone 8b) Bought it after a garden talk at a nursery I was visiting in Houston and it is a winner. I wasn’t sure if it would come back for me but sprang up in the spring and looked great all summer long. It is in a partly shady, sheltered location, but was so great I got three more this summer and have them in different locations to see what happens next year. If they don’t come back, I’ll get more just to use as annuals because they added such a different look.
I’m going to use more of it too. I’ll have to give it a try in a more sunny location to see how it holds up. Thanks for sharing your experience with it, Nancy. —Pam
Your Mexican Buckeye puts mine to shame! Now I see the advantage of letting it be a multi-trunked tree. Both of mine are single-trunked and have been pruned to show off their twisting, curving limbs. It seems I pruned myself right out of more fall color, dang it!
Ha! Well, console yourself with the thought that fall color is brief, but your elegantly pruned limbs will be shown off all year. —Pam
You’re garden looks delightful and I love your ceder fence. I have a question…how does one find out more about the Chicago Conference? I’ve got a few friends that are interested in making the trek!
Hope all is well:) Happy gardening…cheryl
Thanks, Cheryl. Regarding the Chicago Spring Fling, contact Mr. McGregor’s Daughter for more details. Cheers, Pam