‘Some Like It Hot!’

I think you can surmise that I am NOT one of those people, and as such I found myself out among the children as early as was possible this morning. They are forecasting temps to push past the 40C mark today with humidex, and quite frankly there is very little that would cause my oh so delicate milky skin to risk burning and turning to ash upon contact with the sun’s rays! [And who the hell is he trying to convince….. were his beloved Meconopsis or Anemenopsis in bloom, he would be out there falling about like a drunken sailor with that damned camera of his!]
The later flowering Roscoea are in their glory. I admit to being partial to R.c ‘Kew Beauty’ with his whipped buttery yellow blooms, but there is something equally striking about R. ‘Cinnamon Stick’ a newer hybrid whose foliage has a deep wine burgundy colouring to their reverse. Its stems are of a matching colour and provide a wonderful contrast to the mauve-pink flowers.
One of my favourite placement combinations upped the ante this week with the discovery that the foliage of Aconitum alboviolaceum is turning a delightful golden hue.

Thanks for the kind comment Barbara! I think part of my photographic regimen is to try to convince myself that I actually have even a half acre instead of the postage stamp sized property that it is! I had a group of avid gardeners [clients I have met at Cedar Spring this year] drop by last week…… everyone seems to have the same reaction: ‘ Is there more in the back yard? This can’t possibly be it, can it?’
Spigelia marilandica is on its third bloom of the season, while Gentiana ‘True Blue’ just continues to bedazzle is with his opulent amethyst gems! I have come to love the fall colours of my garden!
A garden fried stopped into the nursery a week or so ago and asked if my potted Acidenthera had bloomed. Uh, no, not yet but there’s lots of foliage! Seems they should have bloomed over the last month. I came home, and there it was….. but wait a second! That’s not Acidenthera….. why it looks suspiciously close to the bloom of a Nerine….. oh, wait a second. I did plant a Nerine bulb in the centre of the pot and edged it with the Acidenthera. All flower and stem, no foliage that I can deduce. I must remember to bring the pot in for the winter to avoid the killing frosts.
My boss and I are working on a project for the business – its to be a surprise for her husband….. I wish I could divulge more but know that its a project that is allowing for the geekiness to take centre stage. More details as they become available!
I am finally impressed with my Metasequoia ‘Matthai Broom’ performance! Last year it looked half dead – much more copper than green! This year it looks much happier!  M.g ‘Goldrush’ as seen in the previous photo astounds me with how much growth he throws forth every year! Already he is as tall as Cornus ‘Golden Shadows’ which has been there for four years. This is year two for ‘Goldrush.’ Methinks he isn’t going to stay postage stamp garden size for much longer!
The intoxicating fragrance of Actaea matsumurae ‘White Pearl’ is filling the air in the space between the two houses! I love how its fragrance catches passers by by surprise every year! A must have for an outdoor seating space where there is partial shade available!
Two forms of Kirengeshoma reside in my garden – directly across from one another for that matter – and over the past six years I have witnessed their subtleties from close up. The korean species known as ‘koreana’ blooms much earlier than its cousin ‘palmata’ whic as the photos shows, is in the throes of blooming. I have never seen so many waxen yellow shuttlecock shaped flowers in one season!
A Salvia for shade? You betcha! I am all about foliage and when I stumbled across Salvia koyomae, a robust shade loving member of what is traditionally a sunnier genus, I was hooked! Its yellow flowers are rather inconspicuous, but its the foliage I was after.
   My serpentine ‘Slytherin’ Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ appears be to forming cones! I hope this is a sign of his being happy, contained as he is on my front porch! How I would love to be able to decorate him for the winter, but by then he will be residing in one of the cooler hoop houses! I cannot bear the thought of losing him!
Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum’ has thrived beyond expectations in its pot – also located on the front porch! We planted one in what I surmised to be a sheltered position at work, but in recent months I have witnessed what appears to be wind burn on most of the outer foliage. It only gets partial sun so I am concerned that we will have to relocate it in the Spring. The foliage on mine on the other hand remains stunningly, fabulously chartreuse! Just the way Daddy likes it!