My Favorite 'Coming Attraction' ~ Autumn Joy

Of all the perennials in my garden, Sedum is the one that truly deserves the title, 'Coming Attractions.'
That's because this big, beautiful, drought-tolerant, sun-worshiping succulent teases me for months on end.

She grows ever-so-slowly throughout the season.
Providing nary a hint of what's to come.
Pale green leaves make a nice backdrop to summer flowers.

Sedum patiently waits for a cool, crisp morning, just like this one. Because she's not trying to please you, she's much more interested in feeding the migrating butterflies and busy, little bees.

Sedum Autumn Joy has a great personality, changing colors as she blooms. This plant (photo above) is the same plant as photo below, shot 4 weeks later.

Right about the time I've forgotten all about her, I step outside, with my morning coffee and see a brightly blooming bush. Or, 2 or 3, or 4... Since every time it's in bloom I hightail it to the nursery to buy another one!

There are 400 varieties of perennial Sedum. I'd list them here, but I don't want to get carpal tunnel. Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is best known and most popular. The flower heads change color throughout the season, just like our favorite trees, ending up a rich, rusty brown.

Sedum Autumn Joy: Purchase this fall bloomer from Home Depot or other discount shop. They are such easy-care perennials, it's not worth the expense of specialty nurseries.

I love the succession of colors ~ buds have a hint of pale pink, blooms are deep, rich reds and pinks. The copper and browns of spent blooms look lovely in the freshly fallen snow. USDA zones 3-10.

Grey Mornings

Kalanchoe:
My October 'Plant of the Month'

Calyx & Corolla don't send me catalogs anymore. That's good for the environment, bad for the soul. They probably figured out that I never buy anything. Though, on dull, grey mornings (like this one) I could entertain myself for hours, drooling over their lovely potted plants and bouquets.

Calyx gave me the bright idea of creating my very own 'Flower of the Month Club.' I imagine they gave the local supermarkets that big idea, too. In winter, I pick up a colorful flowering plant every month while I'm grocery shopping. (In fact, I've gotten to the point where if plants don't flower, they're not allowed in my window.) Cut flowers last a couple of days. Potted flowering plants can provide a full month of cheerful blooms. If you're kind to your Kalanchoes, they'll rebloom several times a year. Give it a try!

* Kalanchoes like dry soil. I picked orange for October, but they come in many colors. Deadhead for repeat blooms. Most nurseries say indirect light ~ mine prefer a warm, sunny window.

** Calyx is expensive but worth every penny. Check out their Pomegranate Bonsai. I might have to dust off the Mastercard for that one...

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

I was going a little stir crazy yesterday. Nasty winds, blowing snow, nothing to do. Well, plenty to do. Cleaning comes to mind since it looks like a bomb went off in this house of mine. But, why clean when I can putz around the kitchen and make an even bigger mess?

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. Separately, combine pumpkin purée, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup water, and spices. Stir all ingredients together. Last but not least, stir in those yummy walnuts. Bake in a bread pan at 350 for about an hour.

* I have thoughtfully adjusted this recipe for all you normal people who don't live in the mountains. For high altitudes: Decrease sugar by 3 tablespoons, decrease baking soda by half, bake at 375 (and cross your fingers.)

Bush Clover

Bush Clover

Flat ground rarely exists in a mountain town. So, think about that when you're fertilizing your lawn. Nitrogen will run off ~ down the hill, and into streams. Fertilizer encourages invasive plants to grow thick and strong and ultimately clog up our pretty, babbling brooks.

However!
There's an upside to run off, too...

As we ride our horses along the trails in Park City, we see the fun results of dedicated gardeners living atop the many hills. Wildflower seeds are running downhill, too, sprouting in the most unlikely places.

Which is why we are currently blessed with fall blooming, Bush Clover.

It’s a graceful plant, ultra xeric, with a weeping, mounded habit. Pretty pink flowers begin to bloom in late summer and will continue until the first hard frost. It absolutely loves dry, infertile soil and hot, hot sun. (Which is probably why it made the great escape from their well-sprinkled gardens!)

Bush Clover: Lespedeza thunbergii 'Gibraltar' and Lespedeza thunbergii 'Pink Fountains' are 2 great varieties for Southwest xeric gardens. USDA zones: 4-8, grows to approximately 4-5 feet in a waterwise garden. (If you give it a drink, it will surely die.)

Sweet Autumn Clematis

If I owned a garden shop, I'd time all deliveries for Monday afternoons.

Seeing as how Mondays are almost always the most annoying day of the work week, a happy little package with the words 'Live Plants!' printed on the box is guaranteed to be the highlight.

It certainly was for me... My very own Sweet Autumn Clematis arrived yesterday afternoon.

I discovered her at my seed collecting class. I walked around the corner and this jumbled mass of white, star-shaped flowers stopped me dead in my tracks.

So I waited and I waited... and then I waited some more... Hoping for the perfect photo opportunity.

I finally gave up on the idea that the people who had discovered the pretty bench nestled inside this magical arch of flowers would ever leave. So, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of white but this is the most delicious flowering vine I've ever met!

Thousands and thousands of dainty little blooms adorn this 30-foot climber.

Oh, that's our Jack in the Bean Stalk,* says the instructor.

Sweet Autumn Clematis (USDA zones 5-9) blooms after most Clematis flowering vines are done for the season.

Bonus: It can grow 20 feet in a single season. I can't hardly wait....

Slow As Snails Tomatoes

There are tons of tomatoes that happily grow in a high altitude garden. Unfortunately, I had a helper (aka meddler) who thought he was doing me a big favor by removing what I had planted (wonderful short-growing heirloom tomatoes) and filling my raised bed with traditional tomato plants. These foolish little seedlings thought they had all the time in the world...

There is so much bad news in the local paper* that I often wonder why I subscribe. Take this morning, for instance, when a sneaky little note in the corner of the front page warned that night temperatures would drop to 24 degrees (F). Oh, I know there are plenty of bigger problems in the world than frozen green tomatoes but I had sort of crossed my fingers that we'd have a long, leisurely autumn since it snowed in June. This is why containers are oftentimes a mountain gardener's best friend.

If you have an abundance of good fresh tomatoes, freeze them whole. Just wash, dry, and put them in freezer bags. They'll retain their flavor ~ great for all sorts of recipes (too squishy for salads.)

OVEN-FRIED GREEN TOMATOES:
[Bake in 400 degree oven]

• 6 green tomatoes, cut in 1/4-inch thick slices
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1.5 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• 1.5 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix beaten eggs, milk, and water in a shallow bowl. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan in a separate shallow bowl. Dip tomato slices into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs. Arrange tomato slices on a cookie sheet and bake uncovered in 400° oven for about 10 minutes. Flip all of the tomatoes, to brown on the other side, and bake for 10 more minutes.

*Helpful Hints From The Headless Herald
(We have nicknamed our local paper the Headless Herald. It's just that bad.)

However! It makes a fabulous weed barrier. Lay down 6 sheets of tiresome local reporting and cover with 3 inches of mulch. By next spring your weed problems will be gone and you'll have a sweet little garden bed where passers by can stop and smell the roses.

Ripen green tomatoes by wrapping them in newspaper.
Remove the stems, wash and dry. Then individually wrap each tomato in a piece of newspaper and store the tomatoes in a dark, cool (55-60°F) spot, like your basement, where they will slowly ripen.

** Growing times: Lots of great veggies will happily grow in high altitudes. Read the fine print to determine how long they take to reach maturity. Planting Marigolds around the garden bed helps chase away critters who dine and dash.

Bright Whites

I had a hot date last weekend, so I let my daughter dress me. That's because the sartorial gene skips a generation. If I have to spruce up, beyond jeans and a t-shirt, I get very confused.

It was going pretty well, too! Right up until he confessed he's a serial killer. (He enjoys killing defenseless wild animals during hunting season.) That's when I decided it was time to call it a night.

I'm not real big on hunting. I'll happily challenge any yahoo that calls this a sport. Sport would be hand to hand combat with a moose. Hiding up in a tree, with a rifle, is not what I call a fair 'fight.'

But, I digress.

I had L dress me because she'll always put me in something that makes me look pretty. And, it's pretty much always something I'd never choose for myself.

She does that in my gardens, too. She squeezes a bit of bright white into my too (pink and) blue gardens so things really pop.

When you live in ski country, you get your fair share of white ~ pretty, fluffy snow for months on end. So, white is the last color I'm thinking about when I plant a garden.

Even so, I gotta admit that when you look at the gardens, what you see is L's choice of white. And... later... you start noticing my blue.

So, the thought for today is not about planting a white garden. Heaven forbid! Plant blue; it's prettier.

But, if you'd like a garden that is as entertaining to you as it is to passers by, turn a friend, sibling or child loose at the local nursery.

You'll come home with things you never thought you needed. And, when they're blooming, they always make you smile.