Autumn Landscape

Though my yard is not bursting with the fall colors that true southern gardeners produce, it nonetheless holds its own with those in the middling ranks.


The loropetalum is as lovely as its name. Native to China and Japan, it flowers in both spring and fall and requires little effort. It is a member of the witch-hazel family--taking its name not from the Halloween witch, but from the Middle English wiche or pliable. I love the delicate pink flowers. They are like fairies dancing before the cold of late fall sets in.


The soft leaves of lamb's ears are hard to resist. They make me think of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, even though rabbits--along with deer--resist these plants. Like the loropetalum, lamb's ears are easy to grow; in fact, they're difficult to kill. This can be a mixed blessing.


Chrysanthemums have always bothered me; they remind me of football and cheerleaders. Nonetheless, I decided to plant two this year and I'm glad I did. They're cheerful, it turns out, in a way that doesn't necessarily evoke cheerleaders. Imagine my surprise, then, to read in Wikipedia that while chrysanthemums symbolize death in several European and Asian countries, "the flower is usually regarded as positive and cheerful" in the United States--except for in New Orleans!


These nandina berries, which are orange now, will turn to a deeper red later this year. The plant itself is considered invasive in North Carolina, though I may be doing something wrong as it's not taken over my yard. Everything about the nandina (also called heavenly bamboo) is poisonous. Does this imply something sinister about heaven?


This impatiens deserves a prize. As you can see, I never gave it the courtesy it deserved of planting it in the ground. It has sat in this pot since May in a section of the yard undergoing renovation. It has survived drought and neglect. Look how beautiful it is.