Saturday morning garden

It's not even noon yet. It's gonna get hot today. [ADDED: Later in the afternoon, the 100 deg F float settled to the bottom.]



I haven't been able to see these crocus flowers until now.



I leave for work before they open, and they're closed by the time I get home.



Crocus speciosus.



They're all over the place.



I even have a few white ones. I don't remember buying these at all.



Looking up and around, the garden is pretty quiet right now.



The Meyer lemon recently shot out a half-dozen new branches.



This plant grows in bursts. People say you can grow it well in containers, and I know some of you do, but I have not found that to be the case for me. I tried several times in a container--varying the potting mix, the fertilizer regime, the exposure--always to poor results. Last year I decided to plant one in the ground and it's doing very well. People say the Eureka lemon is a better choice for San Francisco, but, well, whatever.

Indian summer will ripen the last of the tomatoes.



You never really know when the season will end.

I pulled some carrots today to make room for Ocimum 'African Blue'. These 'Thumbelina' are good if you can't be bothered to prepare the soil.



The Scarlet Runner Beans (Phaseolus coccinneus) are totally done, as you can see by the crispy brown leaves. Last year I ripped them out, but this year I'm going to let them overwinter. Hopefully, I'll get a jump on the season next spring.



Cobaea scandens is still going strong...



And Hardenbergia violacea has begun to flower.



This plant keeps my Bloom Day posts aloft all winter. It's nice to see it again!



You might not be able to tell from this picture, but Epilobium canum is winding down.



Here tho' you can see it's making seed.



What else...

Under the deck, some of the cyclamen have come back vigorously. Others have just started to send up a leaf or two. They're not any kind of special cyclamen. Just what I found at the nursery in the discount pile.



Some dahlia I started from seed in May or June are all moldy. Next year I'll plant out whatever comes back.



The spring wildflower starts are doing fine. Lots of seedlings coming up on their own in the garden too which is nice to see. Who knows, some of these might even flower before spring.



(Note: Stylomecon heterophylla was the last to germinate--at least a couple of weeks later than everyone else.)

I don't have the fall color display you may have right now... I have two Acer palmatum, still quite green. I thought the grape was going to turn early this year, but it's still about 80% green. I have four tiny vine maples (Acer circinatum), and only one of them has a feeling of fall.



Tiny little thing.



I'm going to plant the rest of my fall bulbs today. I have quite a few in the ground already, but they keep coming in the mail.



It's rather comical, isn't it? Of course, you order these things several months before they come. You pretty much forget what you asked for. You certainly did not expect their arrival to coincide with a global financial meltdown making you feel like a profiligate spender in times of parsimony.



Instead, try not to think about it.

Things will get better by next spring.