A Compressed Indian Summer

We were prepared for a rainy day inside but were rewarded with 70 degrees F and sunshine after the skies cleared around 10 am. Nice shot above of the fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium') which always amazes me. We have a sequence of three thru the Japanese garden and fern & moss garden. They are truly beacons. Last year, my photos showed these trees a brilliant red but this orange suits me fine. This color will darken to a red very shortly. I also caught the true Autumn crocus (Crocus sativus) in bloom today to the left. You would see this in either white or a lavender color. Not extremely showy or particularly hardy in our climate but any flower I can photograph in late October is interesting to me. Ornamental grasses are also starting to take center stage and we get lots of questions about our "pampas grass" around the parking lot. These large groupings are actually Japanese silver grass or maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) and the variety to the right is called 'Blondo', one of my favorites.

Little Jerry was out in the gardens all day pruning, organizing our "satellite shed' and tidying up. Dr. Gredler worked on lawn repair and collecting leaves around the gardens. Marv, Kay, Marianne and Terry worked on preparing, testing, purchasing, repairing and organizing the lights for our Holiday Lights Show. This wouldn't have been as agonizing if the weather was rainy as the gang had to look out on the sunny day as we worked on essential and timely preparations. We also saw Dr. Yahr and Vern. I caught up on desk work and am working on some orders for next year already. Next week I'll have my cart o' cords out to start our network of power around the gardens. Nice shots below of the South Japanese garden entrance and the bottom shot shows the Ma Chii' structure (Japanese resting structure) in the distance with that same maple seen in the top photo.