Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Early Fall at Crest Avenue and Around Town

I walked around Crest Avenue recently and took some pictures.  This time of year is my favorite.  The weather has cooled substantially.  The humidity is at a comfortable level.  The smell of fall is in the air.  The trees are starting to drop a few leaves.  Here are some shots I thought you might enjoy.




This beautiful burgundy colored mum showed up on my front porch.  The mum fairy must have stopped by. This is really beautiful..  The color is so vibrant.  In the past I have planted mums in the ground or in a planter in hopes that they would return the following year.  They sometimes do, but they do not come back full like you see here.  Maybe I'll do some research on this and see what I am doing wrong and try again this year.  I hate to throw them out once they lose their flowers.




This year was the most magnificent year this zebra grass has had since being planted.  You see that it has gone to tassel.   As the cold weather approaches, this will turn brown.  They are equally as beautiful in the winter as the summer.  In the spring, just as we see now shoots of growth, we will cut it back to the ground and enjoy it again next season.




The goat topiary is finally taking off.  I planted a small-leaf ivy for this topiary because I thought it would be a much better look that the standard, large-leaf ivy.  It set dormant for some time, not wanting to grow.  I was perplexed.  I've never know any ivy that didn't grow like mad.  Finally, it has started to make it's way up and around the body of the goat.  You will remember this is from the Beekman 1802 Collection.




Although I am not happy to report that we had a bagworm infestation on the arborvitae this year, I did find this particularly interesting.  This bagworm was expertly attached at the center-most location on the nose of our goat topiary.  Bagworms are a nuisance.  We can discuss bagworms at a later date if you desire, but for right now I will tell you that bagworms are a perennial insect that gets its name from the silken bag it constructs around itself.  They feed on evergreens and can, and do, destroy any evergreen they attack.




The boxwoods are looking great.  And the new ginger palm is loving it's spot on the front porch.  You can see a partial roll of the weed barrier lying on the ground next to the boxwood.  I left that there because we will be continuing our work in the front yard this week.  We will be moving the holly from the back yard, which is unhappy in it's current location, and transplanting them to the front yard.  They will get much more sun there and I think will like their new location.




I love this beautiful Red Fountain Grass.  I came across this along my walk to the office.




This is planted at the Residence Inn by Marriott in the Foggy Bottom section of Washington, DC.  They do a wonderful job at this Marriott with the landscaping.  It is a garden style hotel, smallish, intimate.  Very beautifully landscaped.

So there are a few pictures of how fall is developing for us.  I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy fall in your town.


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