Constellation Dogwood Tree

Flowering Dogwood Tree
Cornus x rutgersensis 'Constellation'
(KOR-nus)
Synonyms: Rutcan


Sorry for the sporadic updates on this blog. My new job has become one of disaster relief for the gardens at the new estate. There have been a lot of tough calls on what to save and what not too. Of all the plants on the place the mature White Pines and the Lacebark Elms bore the brunt of nature's fury the most. The main tree allee of Elms was almost totally ruined but plans to replant are already being made. The big, heavy, wet snow was almost more devastating then the hurricane. The snow seemed to affect more plants than the winds did. Also of note was the havoc wreaked on the mature Holly collection. The really big Hollies made it ok but the smaller ones had a lot of damage.

Today's Flower is a special dogwood tree. It was developed by Dr. Elwin Orton of Rutgers University as a cross between our native Dogwood (Cornus florida) and the Oriental Dogwood (C. kousa). It combines to of my favorite trees. We got a couple of specimens at the old estate very early after their release (1988) and they have turned into handsome small trees. They grow great foliage but didn't seem to start blooming for a long time. I am not sure if this is indicative of the species or just the conditions mine were located in. They lack the fruit of Cornus kousa and bloom slightly later.

Norway Maple
Acer platanoides 'Princeton Gold'
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)

Kind of on the same note here is another tree developed in New Jersey. It is really a bright accent in the garden and should be used with care.

Sugar Maple Fall Foliage

Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum
(AY-ser) (SAK-er-um)

The Sugar maples are already starting to color up here in Southern Connecticut and it's a little early but it is probably from all the stress the trees had this summer. Probably one of the most beautiful sights in our forest the Sugar Maples often turn orange, red and yellow on the same tree. They are strong hardy trees that can grow up to 100 feet tall but 70 to 80 feet is more common. This tree is commercially viable for both its sap (Maple Syrup) and timber. I am not going to worry too much about the timing of its fall foliage and just enjoy it while we have it.


Shrub Rose
Rosa 'Midnight Blue'
Synonym: WEKfabpur

Since it is Today’s Flowers here is a nice dark shrub rose. It really should be called ‘Midnight Purple’ and I like how the late season flowers on this rose have a darker and richer color than the flowers during the spring and summer. It does have a nice strong fragrance anytime the flowers are out.

Here is a bonus flower since it is Sunday. See more flowers from all over the world at Today’s Flowers .


False Autumn Crocus
Colchicum speciosum
(KOHL-chik-um) (spee-see-OH-sum)
Synonyms: Showy Colchicum, Naked Ladies, Meadow Saffron

These flowers always pop up in the garden this time of year even though they get no special care and are growing under what has become a handsome grove of White pine (Pinus strobus). They are not used that much probably because they end up a little floppy like these ones. Even though they are referred to as Crocus they are not. They have their own genus of Colchicum and unlike Crocus all parts of the plant are considered toxic. There are now several garden developed cultivars available to gardeners, which feature double flowers and some color variations.

Japanese Maple Foliage

Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum 'Trompenburg'
(AY-ser) (pahl-MAY-tum)

This is an interesting Japanese Maple. The partially rolled leaves really give it a unique appearance. I planted two of these several years ago in two different gardens. In one garden the tree was almost completely eaten by the deer and has been trying to come back. The other tree has turned into a very handsome specimen. It is about 9 feet tall and would be a lot wider if it had more room to grow.

This tree is named after The Trompenburg Arboretum in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It grows up to 20 feet tall with a wide spread. The purple/red leaf color is superb and holds up well throughout the summer. Fall color is a bright crimson and is worthy of note.

Skywatch - Golden Dawn Redwood

Golden Dawn Redwood
Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Goldrush'
(met-uh-see-KWOY-uh) (glip-toh-stroh-BOY-deez)
Synonym: M. gly. ‘Ogon’
Skywatch Friday

A while back I posted that I had bought this tree and didn’t know if the marketing hype had got me or it was good decision. It has worked out nicely as the tree has already grown a couple of feet and is starting to shed it’s ‘nursery' shape with a nice branching structure. Its color is stunning and even in the fall the needles turn a nice rusty brown before falling off. It is a Deciduous Conifer. There aren’t too many of those around and I can only think of Larches (Larix), Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia), Bald Cypress (Taxodium) and Golden Larch (Pseudolarix). I am sure that is not a complete list.

If you click the Dawn Redwood label you can see the original picture I took of the foliage. It seems to be a very photogenic tree. I took this and the next picture with Skywatch Friday in mind. Yellow and blue is a nice combination in the garden.

I am not sure if anyone really knows how tall this tree gets. I did read 2/3’s of the size of a regular Dawn Redwood, which is still really big. Luckily I envisioned it getting real big and gave it enough space. It is growing on very wet soil and seemingly loves it.


Golden-leaved Boxelder
Acer negundo 'Kelly's Gold'
(AY-ser) (neg-UN-doh)
Synonym: Ash-leaved Maple, Cutleaf Maple, Stinking Ash

This is another golden tree growing at work. It has turned out okay and does add a chartreuse element to the partly shady area it is located in. I have seen it growing out in the open and it really does turn gold. It is nice since the inside leaves are a bright green so the contrast between the two is beautiful. Box Elder isn’t my favorite tree but some of the specialty ones are nice. There are two different variegated ones at work and both are handsome and almost dainty trees. One is 'Aureomarginatum' and the other is 'Variegatum'.

‘Kelly’s Gold’ gets up to 35 to 40 feet tall but mine is going to be shorter then that. Boxelder is native to a wide geographical area (it is the most widely distributed of the North American maples) and is considered an invasive species in some areas. It can grow on almost any soil type. It is extremely cold hardy.

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Golden Full Moon Maple Foliage

Golden Full Moon Maple Foliage
Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum'
(AY-ser) (shir-ah-sa-WAN-um)


Sweet Buckeye Foliage
Aesculus octandra
(ES-kew-lus) (ock-TAN-druh)
Synonym: Yellow Buckeye

Red Maple Leaves – Ruby Tuesday

Red Maple Leaves – Ruby Tuesday
Acer rubrum
(AY-ser) (ROO-brum)
Synonyms: red swamp maple, swamp maple, Carolina red maple, water maple, Scarlet Maple

These are probably my favorite for fall color around here. I am guessing this is the cultivar ‘October Glory’ since it colored so late and so well. This year the Maples were stupendous with the Sugar Maples being the most outstanding. The yellow background for this picture was provided by a Norway Maple (Acer platanoides).


There was a post on this site on the fall color of Acer rubrum here two years ago. There is a little more information on the trees there. They are a nice shade tree that usually grows fast and straight.

This picture was a Red Maple leaf and a Chrysanthemum that was in my front yard. There is a 75 foot tall Swamp Maple in the front yard that I am worried may eventually crush the house. I need to climb up there and cable it but keep putting it off. It really cools the house during the summer.


More Ruby Tuesday at Work of the Poet
It starts late Monday on EST time.

More Pictures from Kiku 2008

More Pictures from Kiku 2008
The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum:
A Flower Show and Art Exhibition



Here are 6 more photos from the Kiku exhibit at the NYBG. These first two are close ups of a Ozukuri or Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum. There are actually 229 separate flowers from a single plant. They are amazing just from the size of the flowers and the stature of the plant. I wish I had concentrated more on getting a picture of the whole plant (and the big picture of the cascade mums). I am posting them just to give you an idea of how they looked. The yellow one is called ‘Sun Below the Moon’, the pink one ‘Friendship’ and the white one ‘Moon Below the Mountain’.

Thousand bloom Chrysanthemum

Cascade Mums

We have been planting a lot of bulbs and I just made a list for one house we have been working on:

500 Muscari (Mixed Species, blue, white and light blue)
400 Camassia
400 Darwin Tulips ‘Apeldoorn’ (Red)
200 Darwin Tulips ‘Golden Apeldoorn’ (Yellow)
200 Darwin Tulips ‘Holland’s Glory’ (Red)
100 Darwin Tulips ‘Rainbow Warrior’ (Yellow, red edge)
100 Mixed Early Tulips (Pink and Black)
300 Single Early Tulips ‘Apricot Beauty’
100 Tulipa greigii 'Red Riding Hood'
400 Trumpet Narcissus ‘Dutch Master’ (Yellow)
100 Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ (White with shallow yellow cup)
100 Trumpet Daffodils ‘Fortissimo’ (Yellow with dark orange cup)
200 Miniature Species Daffodils ‘Golden Bells’
60 Exhibition Size Hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis)
60 “Gladiator’ Allium
50 Trumpet Narcissus ‘Las Vegas’ (White with yellow cup)
50 Narcissus ‘Ice King’ (Double flowers)
50 Double Daffodil ‘Tahiti’ (bright yellow with orange)
50 Split-cupped Narcissus ‘Orangery’
50 Butterfly Narcissus ‘Cassata’
50 Miniature Daffodils ‘Jack Snipe’
50 Miniature Daffodils ‘Minnow’
32 Narcissus ‘Yellow River’ (New Cultivar)
25 Dwarf Asiatic Lily “Buff Pixie’
25 Tiger Lillies ‘Salmon Twinkle’ (Tigrimun splendens)
10 Species Lily ‘Black Beauty’
10 Species Lily ‘Citronella’
10 Orienpet Lily ‘Orania’

You can see how most of day is taken up. We have also planted several hundred bulbs at other houses. I wanted to type this list up for the customer and there are a few more items I have to add. I always buy my bulbs from several sources and I have used 4 already this year. All the work will be worth it when I am snapping pictures of all the flowers.


Another Japanese Maple from the show. This is a green dissected leaf cultivar called ‘Viridis’ (Acer palmatum dissectum 'Viridis'). I have had some problems with this tree before but they usually straighten out. I like growing them since they do well in shade. They don’t get color like this one, though.

Kiku 2008 at the New York Botanical Garden

Kiku 2008 at the New York Botanical Garden
The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum

This is going to have to be a two-part post. This is the second year I went to the show and it is much better this year. The exhibit opened on October 18th and the flowers still looked fresh and gorgeous last weekend. There were more flowers and types this year. I think the cascade style mums (kengai) were my favorite. They are something that, for me, is easier to relate to. The big mums are amazing but the mums that the cascades are made up of are more like something I would try and grow. This first purple mum is one of the cascade mums.

The next flowers are from the ogiku or single stem style. That was the style that I posted yesterday for Wordless Wednesday. The flowers really have a royal feel to them and the color arrangement was stunning. They are meant to be viewed from the front so all the colors line up correctly.


The collection of Japanese Maples was great. Many were, like the ones at work yesterday, at the peak of their fall color. From experience the Japanese Maples get very intense color (more so than the regular fall color) a couple of days before all the leaves fall off. Some of the Maples at Kiku were at this point. Which is unbelievable stunning to me. There was a good assortment of Japanese Maples including some I hadn’t seen before.


The show was definitely worth going to and since I am due a couple more member tickets I may go again. There is a nighttime showing of the Chrysanthemums on November 7th and 14th called Kiku and Cocktails.

More Fall Foliage

More Fall Foliage

These shots were taken in New Milford, Connecticut two weeks ago. The first one is another shot where the polarizer filter was upside down. I have finally figured out there is a little arrow to show where the effect in relation to the end of the lens. Some of them have them and some don’t. The church shot is the same church that has been posted on this site before. This fall season has been one of the best in my recent memory. The foliage shots I have taken have been better than my previous attempts which has been encouraging. Often times when I am not good at something I will shy away from it and this year I decided to meet the challenge and try some foliage shots. There is still a ways to go to really capture the majesty of colors but I am happy with the headway I have made this season.


We are leaving today for a 6-day visit to see my sister and new nephew. They live in Sonoma, California, which of course is in Wine Country. I hope to update this site with some trip pictures while I am gone but you never know about Internet access when on the road. We get to spend one day and night in San Francisco. The whole area is, in many ways, a photographer’s dream and hopefully I will get a few nice images. It was funny since I spent about an hour packing up my camera gear and about 15 minutes packing my clothes.

Fall Foliage

Fall Foliage
Sky Watch Friday

There will probably quite a few fall shots on Skywatch this week. These were taken on my drive on Sunday afternoon. The trees are absolutely beautiful this year. I am still trying to figure out how to take a good landscape shot of the colors. I really should have brought a tripod.

This first picture is a parking lot tree. I am not sure what it is. It was much darker red than a Sugar Maple but had the habit of one. It might be a Freeman’s Maple (Acer rubrum var. saccharinum), which is a cross between Sugar and Red Maples. That wouldn’t be true if this was a wild tree but since it was planted it is probably a cultivar or in this case a hybrid. There is a little sky poking in from behind.


This second shot is a blooper. It was the first time that I was using the new polarizer filter and it was turned the wrong way. You can see it only polarized the left side of the photo. At least it was polarizing most of the foliage. This is the kind of shot that needed a little more reach than the 24mm. It was taken sticking through a hole in the gate of a chain link fence behind a little shopping center. For fun I thought I would try and post a map of exactly where it was taken (Margerie Reservoir in New Fairfield, Connecticut).




View Larger Map

This last picture was taken in Newtown and it is kind of a swampy pond. The colors were just right as I drove by there yesterday and most of the leaves had fallen.


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'Orange Dream' Japanese Maple

Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum 'Orange Dream'
(AY-ser) (pahl-MAY-tum)

This is a relatively new Japanese Maple cultivar. It is quite striking both when the foliage emerges and in the fall. Its foliage is a nice lime green during the summer. It grows to about 15 feet and has green bark. The bark is nice as it is a contrast to the foliage. I have noticed some variation in the emerging color. This one was particularly yellow with a pronounced red stripe on the end of the leaves but I have also seen specimens that emerge more orange.

This was a nice group of Daffodils I saw yesterday. Their color kind of matched the ‘Orange Dream’. I was lucky to get about 10 or 12 good pictures yesterday. I don’t think I will have the camera out today as 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected here. We certainly need it, as everything was really getting dry. I have a couple of appointments and can finish my paperwork today.

Norway Maple

Norway Maple
Acer platanoides
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)

These are some pictures of Norway Maple. I have never noticed the flowers up close and I have to admit they are quite pretty. I wouldn’t recommend this tree for the garden or even planting as a shade tree unless it was an urban area. It is one of the most widely planted street trees in the US and that is because it is so tough and has the ability to withstand many of the conditions urban street trees have to endure.

It was introduced into the United States around 1760 but didn’t gain popularity until the late 1800’s. There are many (90 or so) cultivars available in all different shapes, sizes and colors. I am a little partial to the red leafed ones like 'Crimson King' and also like the variegated cultivar ‘Drummondi’, both of which have been featured on this blog before. The reasons I don’t recommend this tree is that aren’t too many plants that will grow underneath it, although I found that Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) does well. I also don’t like the numerous seedlings.


Last night the winner of Oprah’s Big Give was announced. It was the person whose modest garden we take of. It was fun seeing him through the weeks and as far as I am concerned it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person and family. They are wonderful people.

Molly is hanging on she is no better or no worse. She seems to be fighting so we are too. God bless that dog! I guess it is okay to talk about her here as she has thousands of hours of gardening experience from when she accompanied me to work a few days a week (at least) for the last 12 years. We call her the ditch inspector since whenever you dig a ditch she had to go down in it and check it out.


This is a species of Muscari called M. woronowii. I couldn’t find any information on it.

Red Maple Flower

This is a flower from a Swamp Maple. People call them Scarlet Maple or Red Maple, also. I was happy to see the trees at the farm had flowers you could actually take a picture of. Most have them high in the air like the one in my yard where the flowers start about 25 feet off the ground.

I did a post on the fall color of Acer rubrum
here:

The common names of this tree refer to the fall color, not the leaves, which are green.


While I was working in the rose garden yesterday, which wasn’t a bad way to spend Sunday, I saw this view off to the Northeast. You can just see the farm next door. It makes me laugh when horses from both farms meet each other at the fence. It looks like they are having coffee.


I was hobnobbing with this horse yesterday. She is a multiple stakes winner and is usually quite aloof. She probably thought I had carrots again. It was nice that she came over for a scratch and a picture. This is a Thoroughbred.

Harlequin Maple

Harlequin Maple
Acer platanoides 'Drummondii'
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)
Synonyms: Drummond’s Norway Maple

This is from a botanical scan I made this summer and I added the black background in Photoshop (CS2). This tree is really very beautiful but you have to watch for the leaves which can sometimes revert to all green. It is sterile so it does not reseed which is a major reason for not planting Norway Maple. Obviously with a name like Norway Maple it is very hardy (USDA Zone3). My particular specimen has been fairly slow growing when compared to the species. It is occasionally struck with a fungus in late summer but I have been spraying it with fungicide in the spring and that seems to stop that. If I miss the spray cycle the leaves sometimes turn brown during the summer. Plant this tree in an area where its 40 foot height and spread won’t be a problem. It can also have visible surface roots and not too many things will grow under it. I have Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) growing under mine and they both seem happy (Archangel can be invasive, plant with care) and Pachysandra will usually grow under Norway Maples. If you don’t want to use any of those try a good coat of mulch.


This is some boxed Dutch Amaryllis (Hippeastrum, hip-ee-ASS-trum) I saw at the nursery. They are pretty much a foolproof plant for the holidays and quite showy. I learned something from looking up this plant. They are not true Amaryllis. There is only on plant that belongs to that genus and it is called the Belladonna Lily (Amaryllis belladonna) or Naked Ladies. I will have to do some further research on that.

Amur Maple 'Flame'

Amur Maple
Acer ginnala 'Flame'
(AY-ser) (jin-NAY-luh)
Synonyms: Siberian Maple, A.g. var. euginnala, Acer tataricum var. ginnala, A. t. var. aidzuense

Never sure what to call this plant since it has so many synonyms. I have taken to calling it Acer ginnala since it is the easiest. This is an interesting little tree that should be used in the landscape more often. In some areas it is considered invasive but in many years of growing it I haven’t seen any seedlings. Amur Maple is extremely hardy (USDA Zone 2) and can grow in a variety of soils and conditions. ‘Flame’ can get to 15-20 feet tall and needs very little maintenance. There aren’t a lot of diseases or insects that favor it other that the occasional tar spot. I have 4 specimens growing in various areas of the Estate as well as the dwarf variety ‘Emerald Elf’. All have done well although the one in full sun seems to get the best color. That is the real reason to grow this, the great fall color. I wish I had gotten to photograph this about a week earlier because it would show more of the habit of getting red, yellow and orange fall color on the same plant.


I wanted to go out and get a couple of pictures today but the forecast is for some freezing rain. I think I will stay in and maybe get some of the Christmas stuff out.

Fernleaf Fullmoon Maple

Fernleaf Fullmoon Maple
Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’
(AY-ser) (juh-PON-ih-kum)
Synonyms: Maiku jaku, Downy Japanese Maple, ハウチワカエデ

Since I have been enjoying all the Japanese Maples at work and posted on other blogs, like Ki’s, I thought I would share one of my favorite trees. The term Japanese Maples is usually applied to Acer palmatum but this tree is actually a species (different second name) Acer japonicum and it is a cultivar of that species ‘Aconitifolium’. Other cultivars of this tree include 'Vitifolium' and ‘Green Cascade’. It is a wonderful small stature tree that can grow in partial shade (should be in hot climates) and is hardy to USDA Zone 5. The species was introduced to the United States in 1864. Golden Fullmoon Maple is actually a different species A. shirasawanum. I did a post on that tree here.

A good way to tell the difference between Acer palmatum and A. japonicum is the amount of lobes on the leaf. The palmatum types usually have seven or less lobes and japonicum has 9 to 13 lobes. Sorry if all those species are confusing it kind of breaks down like this.

Acer palmatum and Acer japonicum are both species of Maple. They are both commonly referred to as Japanese Maples. The species of A. japonicum further breaks down into cultivars of Fernleaf (‘Aconitifolium’), Grape-leaved 'Vitifolium' and Weeping (‘Green Cascade’).


The Estate has two specimens of Fernleaf Fullmoon Maple. One is planted in a shady location and the other is in full sun. These pictures are from the sunny one. The one in shade grows a bit sparser and slower and gets more of a yellowy fall color. It is still beautiful. Most of the trees at work are tagged as to what they are, where they bought and how big and when they were planted. This one was bought at Imperial Nurseries, came in a 15 gallon container and was planted in the summer of 2000. As I remember it was about 5 feet tall and had a spread of about 4 feet. In the last seven years it has grown to about 8 feet tall and is about 12 feet wide. Its final height is supposed to be 10-12 feet tall and 15 feet wide but I have seen larger ones. The flowers in the spring and the emerging foliage (sometimes with a touch of pink) are beautiful as are the large green leaves in the summer. The real show starts in the fall with the change to orange, yellow and red leaves. The autumn show lasts quite a while and after the leaves fall off the winter outline isn’t bad looking. So it is really a tree that has three strong seasons.

The first picture was shot with the 60mm/2.8 Micro-Nikkor and on the second ahot I used the 50mm/1.8 Nikon lens.

Scarlet Maple (Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’)

Scarlet Maple
Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’
(AY-ser) (ROO-brum)
Synonyms: Red Swamp Maple, Swamp Maple, Soft Maple, Carolina Red Maple

When I first started this blog I said to myself that I don’t want to feature the same plant twice but have come to realize (after about 450+ posts) that way of thinking isn’t right. Since this blog is mainly about pictures I now see that I am photographing some of the same plants but from different angles and with the more important thing, different light. So I am posting these pictures of Scarlet Maple even though I had a post about them on October 03, 2006. This tree is a known cultivar and that makes it a little different.


These were two of the best colored trees in the whole New Jersey State Botanical Garden, at least for red foliage, this last weekend. They seemed literally to be on fire. I guess ‘October Glory’ can mean November Glory also. ‘October Glory’ is one of my favorite Swamp Maples. It grow about 40 feet tall and 30-35 feet wide. It is fast growing and very reliable for color, it is also hardy to USDA Zone4. You can often see it gracing parking lots, commercial centers and streets but it is also a good tree for the garden and lawn.

Here is a link to the other Scarlet Maple post

'Sango Kaku' Coral Bark Japanese Maple

Coral Bark Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’
(AY-ser) (pahl-MAY-tum)
Synonym: Senkaki

Once I saw the light slanting down on the Coral Bark it was time for a picture! I love this little tree and usually plant one or a group in every garden I design. It has a small stature (in this area) for a Japanese Maple and grows in shade, although the twig color appears better in sun. I wouldn’t call it dwarf but it isn’t full size either, it certainly seems to be a semi-slow grower. The lime green foliage is a nice contrast during the spring and summer but the real show starts when the leaves turn bright yellow in the fall. The fall color is very persistent and then seems to drop off all at once to reveal the second show of the coral red twigs and branches for the winter. The branch color does fade a little after the wood ages after several years but it is still very attractive.

I grow several cultivars of Coral Bark Japanese Maple but I think ‘Sango Kaku’ is still my favorite. It is most often available at a reasonable price and more and more nurseries seem to be carrying it. This particular tree has been planted for about 12 years and it is about 12 feet tall with an equal spread. It was planted in heavy shade but a few years ago we had to remove some the trees and branches that were shading it and it literally exploded with growth. It didn’t get much taller, just much thicker and more graceful.

I strongly recommend this tree.

Here is a link to World Plants.com, which shows some of the other Coral Bark Japanese Maples available.
world plants.com/coral bark

More 50mm/1.8 Photos

Here are some more shots from the 50mm/1.8. In some ways I against having too many lenses in your bag as it complicates things. I start thinking well if I only had this lens or that lens. Basically you need to have a couple of good lenses and a pretty good camera to get good shots.


The first picture greeted as I walked out the door yesterday morning. Too bad the day didn’t live up to this sunrise. It was just one of those days where a lot of little things kept me from getting done what I wanted. I did get the sprinkler system blown out but it took all day. I did manage to walk around and get a few pictures. This is a native tree from the Estate. Pretty good color for a seedling.


I read on Ki’s blog that his ‘Beni Kawa’ Japanese Maple was in fall color already and many of his other Maples hadn’t changed yet. So of course I had to check my specimen and sure enough it was coloring up. There are some other Coral Bark Maples planted near this one (‘Japanese Sunrise’ and ‘Sango Kaku’) and they haven’t started yet either. You can actually just see the tips of ‘Sango Kaku’ coming into the picture on the left. One thing I have noticed about Coral Barks is they do hold their fall color for a long time. Anyway I thought it was interesting that both of the ‘Beni Kawa’s were turning already and I think it maybe a characteristic of the cultivar.


I posted recently I was moving some shrubs that had grown too big and were interfering with the drainage along side the house. Here is a picture of the monster Burning Bush we moved. I put the rake in there for scale. Pretty good for two people, although Karen did help drag it out of the hole. It looked good in its new spot. We moved that big Pieris in the background and a large Redvein Enkianthus (E. campanulatus) and Koreanspice Viburnum (V. carlesii). The stuff had been in for 18 years and I was sick of trying to prune it back. This is not at the estate but another garden I designed and built in New Canaan.

Fall Leaf on Granite

Fall Leaf

I took this picture at work the other day. It is a native Acer rubrum (Swamp or Scarlet Maple) leaf on an Old Spruce Mountain Granite step. The granite is native to Connecticut. Those darker areas are actually pieces of Garnet.

I went to a XXth (not allowed to say the number, if you know what I mean) in Manhattan last night. We had a good time. The entertainment was a private concert by the Derek Trucks Band of whom Eric Clapton said in his new book, “Derek’s playing is stunning, unlike anything I’d ever heard before”. Eric asked him to join his last world tour and Derek played on Eric’s last record. Derek’s wife Susan Tedeschi joined in for several songs and she is an attractive, talented woman with a lot of energy. It was some of the best close up guitar playing I have ever heard. Actually it was some of the best guitar playing I have ever heard, period.
Here are a few links to DTB sites:
Derek Trucks.com

Derek Trucks/Wikipedia

I got a new lens, the Nikon 50mm/1.8 and decided to use it at the party. Here is a picture of Derek that I took.


I posted eight other pictures here:
New Pictures Album on Digital Flower Pictures.com

The lens did pretty amazing considering the $119 (US) price and the really dim light at the venue. I am happy to have a new prime and hope to use it on some botanical and night shots.