Tag Archives: Autumn

Mums are always popular in the fall. Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb as far back as the 15th century BC.[9] Over 500 cultivars had been recorded by 1630.[7] The plant is renowned as one of the Four Gentlemen in Chinese and East Asian art. The plant is particularly significant during the Double Ninth Festival. Chrysanthemum …

October is a transition time in our Sunnyvale garden. The last of the summer fruits and vegetables taper off. There is a tomato that will never ripen. The last of the marionberries got ripe – it tasted great. All of the black mission figs and panache figs were consumed by either squirrels or the dreaded night squirrels. The fall and …

Tagetes lemmonii is new to our Sunnyvale garden in 2018. This herbaceous evergreen perennial in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) is native to Arizona and northern Mexico. The highly aromatic, fine textured medium green leaves are arranged on brittle stems. Electric yellow-orange daisy-like flowers provide intense fall color. Tagetes produces many small flower heads in a flat-topped array, each head with …

The Tecoma Sparky is a hybrid plant that was created in 2012 by Arizona State University. This plant was even named after the Arizona State Mascot “Sparky”. It is a variation of the Tecoma plant that is mainly a yellow flower with a red-orange center. Tecoma Sparky is found in the southern regions of the United States, mainly in Arizona, …

Red Fountain Grass dazzles with 10-inch bottlebrush plumes emerging burgundy-red in mid-to-late summer. Plumes shift a golden hue in fall and remain in place throughout winter. Flowing, ribbon-like grass blades adds texture and motion. ‘Red Head’ stands apart as one of the earliest-flowering fountain grasses. An excellent cut flower, fresh or dried. Plant in full sun and water sparingly to …

November is the beginning of winter in our Sunnyvale garden. Summer and fall flowers are putting on their last show. The hummingbird loves the red tubular flowers of the Salvia elegans. Daylilies,  yarrow, marigolds, and mums brighten the darkening skies. The hibiscus loves the south-facing wall. Harvested Panache figs, pepino melons, pomegranates, spaghetti squash. Planted garlic, beets, carrots, kale, cabbage, …

During the fall, the garden nurseries are full of mums of all varieties. I plant them in a variety of pots.

The Purple Trumpet vine has really benefited from all of our El Nino winter rain in Sunnyvale. The trumpet vine flower is great for attracting hummingbirds to the landscape. The beautiful tubular flowers range in color from yellow to orange or red or purple. Blooming on the trumpet vine plant takes place throughout summer and into fall, though blooming may …

The harvest of pomegranates from our Sunnyvale garden in 2015 was about half of 2014. Most of it was due to reduced fruit from the drought. We also lost about 8 from animals with incisors (mostly at night).

The Iceland Poppy is a boreal flowering plant. It is native to subpolar regions of Europe, Asia and North America, and the mountains of Central Asia, but not in Iceland!!!   Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, often grown as biennials, that yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, one foot, curved stems among feathery blue-green …