Fall color

Fall foliage season is in full swing -- not only in the forests but in our own back yard.Nancy spent a good part of Columbus Day in the garden with her camera. This photo shows our nearly empty garden pond and some miscanthus grass right behind it. In the background, the Japanese maple is the red-leaved plant, a witch hazel is the yellow plant and the Harry Lauder Walking Stick is the green contorted-stem plant on the right. The Autumn Joy sedum, in the left foreground, is an outstanding plant for this time of year. We will leave this up until spring, and it will look good with the blossoms poking above the snow. A peony with its fall colors is at the right. We still haven't had a frost, so these dahlias -- and several others -- have kept producing blooms. After the first frost, we will dig these bulbs and store them in the coolest part of the basement to replant in the spring. The lack of frost means that the peppers are finally producing red -- and in one case yellow -- fruit. The peppers, one yellow zucchini plant and four sweet potato plants are the only food we have still growing in the garden. Getting back to color in the garden, last Sunday's column was about alliums, or ornamental onions. They are a great statement bulb which will bloom in late spring or early summer. And you should plant the bulbs now. I am heading for vacation and won't be back until Oct. 27. The highlight of the vacation will be attending a conference on preserving historic gardens being held Thursday at Sturbridge, Mass., in connection with the meeting of the New England Region of the National Garden Club. If I learn as much as I hope I will, I will write a column on that. The column this coming Sunday is on growing nuts -- especially hazelnuts -- in Maine. And we'll see if I can come up with something for Oct. 26 before I head out of here.