I’ve been busy getting costumes together, then attending a Halloween party on Saturday, and then recovering from it, so I haven’t spent time in the garden lately, other than to give the lawn and smaller container plants a quick watering. But this morning I got ready for work a bit earlier than usual (dressed in one of my medieval-style velvet gowns, since the company encourages costumes) and went around the yard taking pictures. The sun is rising at 7:30 these days, and a morning fog is common here; my photos have soft lighting with the sky still grey. Yellows, oranges, pinks and reds of flowers stand out nicely in contrast. I managed a unique shot when a feather drifted onto the Hot Lips salvia bush (Salvia microphylla), landing by a bright blossom. These bloom red in the hottest weather, then in a combination of white and red, but are pure white when receiving less sun.

The African daisies (Euryops Pectinatus) are lushly leaved, with more blooms than they had in summer. The Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) is flowering for the first time since June; it did the same last October. As I’ve been paying increasing attention to this garden over the seasons and the years, the more I know what to expect from each plant variety. However, the weather’s at least a bit different every growing season: I have cayenne peppers later into fall this time around, and wild leeks surprisingly never completely died out in the warmer months.

The tomatoes are just about done. I’ll remove the plants in a couple weeks and move flowering plants into the emptied pots. Unfortunately, the rhubarb also seems to be dying out. I’d planted two in March; only one sprouted. It grew big leaves and short red stalks, but it all began to turn yellow and wither about a month ago. After once again reading about proper rhubarb conditions, I’m guessing that it needed heavier watering and fertilization. I wonder if any of it will come back in the spring.

Otherwise in the group of containers I call the “vegetable patch”, lettuces, peas and radishes are growing slowly. Cilantro and dill have been harvested once, with a bit more to come from this round of seeding.

Rain’s predicted for the weekend (finally!), but if there’s any dry weather, I’ll work on providing stakes and trellises for growing morning glories, and pulling up spring/summer flowering annuals and dead leaves from bulbs such as gladiolus. Another task for the near future is planting the free bulbs I found a few weeks ago (though the dahlia tubers will have to wait until spring). Meanwhile, I’ll consider the best spots for them, and learn more about lilies.