It’s hard to believe that tomorrow November begins. The garden is reflecting true autumn now. Dahlias are finished, the grass is greener beneath piles of leaves, and at midday the sun barely clears the tops of trees around the edges of the garden.
I’m joining with gardeners in a Saturday peek over garden fences worldwide. Six on Saturday was begun by The Propagator, and all are welcome to join in the fun.
ONE – Thanks to help from my sister, Meg, some 260 tulip bulbs are all planted in pots. The number is about half of what I normally plant, showing my restraint 😉 . This year I was gifted tulip bulbs, which took the guesswork out of selecting colors. Coppertop will feature the purples, reds, yellows, and whites in the spring — an eye-popping combo — of the below varieties.
TWO – Our dozens of native big leaf maples, Acer macrophyllum, glow golden until they drop their enormous leaves. I laid my secateurs on the ground for size comparison, following Fred’s example from another post. Some wind and rain a couple nights ago left a gilded driveway. These leaves are shredded and added to beds or added to the compost heap.
THREE – I call this dwarf maple ‘Cousin It’ for obvious reasons. This time of year he’s beautiful. I have no idea of the cultivar, but some fellow gardener can point me in the right direction I’m sure.
FOUR – More subtle, but equally as beguiling, this variegated dogwood, Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ (or similar) brightens one edge of the lawn. Check out those white berries!
FIVE – I’ve posted this lovely bush by the garden shed other years, but can’t get enough the dark, glossy berries and fall color. It’s a chokeberry or Aronia melanocarpa.
SIX – I’ll end with an oddity, or maybe not too odd, since we are known for our abundance of fungi in the Pacific Northwest. These fellas appeared overnight in a shady section of mulch on Lupine Hill. They take me right back to a favorite, treasured childhood storybook, Paulus and the Acornmen, by Jean Dulieu. Whenever wild things happen at ground level like these rank and file mushrooms, I’m delighted by thoughts of a world of wonder beneath our feet.
Gardens at Coppertop 
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