November is Chrysanthemum Month

We don't usually think of November as a 'highlights in the garden' month.  And yet this is the start of Autumn colours for Japanese Maples, Dawn Redwoods, Cypress,  and Weeping Willows.  Our pictures show the turning colours of Hosta leaves in my garden.   The Chrysanthemum is the 'birth flower' of November.  Longwood announced its Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum Tree has more than a thousand blossoms again this year - 1,523 flowers on a single stem. The link takes you to a youtube video showing the growing technique over its 18 month life.  Close by to me are the Chrysanthemum Festivals of Gage Park in Hamilton (finished October 30th), the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouses (all of November),  and then Allan Gardens and Centennial Greenhouses in Toronto. Their growers have been to Longwood for training and expert guidance, and the results are displays of beautiful, large blossoms standing tall on single stems in many colours and shapes.

How Many Bees Are There?

As the hostas bloom, I start to look at the bees that are collecting nectar.  I want to cut the hosta flowers because they don't match my colour scheme.  However, there are so many bees that I give in and only cut the most straggly flowers. These bees are on wisteria - if only a hosta could be this beautiful.  These look like bumble bees to me - I don't really know how to identify bees.  Like most people I take them for granted.  I find out there are fifty species of bumble bees in North America.  They live in colonies, headed by a queen who is the main egg-layer.  I found a site where a bee had been identified - pink 38 - and her movements tracked for a summer. Solitary bees make up the largest percent of the bee population.  I have a solitary bee house that needs to get up - their nests are in hollow reeds or twigs, so it is an easy nest to make.   There are 20,000 different species of bees in the world, and there are 6.5 billion bees - I guess we will have to share as there are over 7 billion people - so less than a bee for every person.  Plant some hostas and you will get more than your fair share.

My Hosta Fantasy

l cut off most of the hosta flowers along the front garden this year.  With the mass showing, the weakness in their colour and uprightness is glaring.  By weakness in colour, I mean the light lavender colour.  It seems to take away from the green shades that contrast and complement each other.  In addition to that I have intense orange begonias and coleus to complement the colour of the front door and the yellow bricks.  As white would do wonderfully, perhaps I'll concentrate on some more Royal Standard Hostas for a nice end of season show.  And they have a beautiful fragrance, too.

So today, I worked a little in photoshop and turned the hosta in the foreground of this beautiful rural garden in Grimsby to a more pleasing shade.  I would like to try out a Crocosmia orange, but didn't manage to get photoshop to get to that colour.  If anyone knows the technique, I would appreciate a comment or a link.

Here's that lovely winding path with the pergola destination.