Seasonal

We've heard warblers passing through this week, but haven't sighted them. All our milkweed (mostly in pots) began again from seed this year since not one plant survived last winter's cold to have a jump on the spring. Only now are both varieties (all-yellow ones and those producing flowers that are part yellow and part red-orange) beginning to reach the stage of producing seedpods. For several years running, they've produced pods several times during the summer. As a result of last winter's severity, neither pride of Barbados nor lantana remained leafed out until spring, and both began anew on fresh growth. The lantanas flowered just once, producing just one crop of berries so far, now ripening. Pride of Barbados produced just one set of seeds, and these have just this week popped open. Seeds of garlic chives have dropped from the papery remains of the flowers that produced them. Hyacinth beans are nearly done flowering. All the various kinds of morning glories are now down to two varieties: Heavenly Blue and a fleshy white variety (name unknown); the rest have gone to seed. Heavenly Blue is tapering off, but remains most heavily in bloom way up in a redbud tree. Redbud leaves have fallen; pecan leaves are beginning to fall; pear leaves are beginning to change color; Rose of Sharon leaves are about to drop. Leaves of returning ranunculus join those of several kinds of returning anemone. Leaves of pink oxalis have appeared again, and now the oxalis is blooming. The first paperwhite narcissus to appear this year now has a half-dozen bud stalks. Some Bright Lights cosmos have gone to seed, but the three plants that survived the summer are still covered in flowers. A few volunteer nasturtiums are to be seen, and one has even produced a flower the approximate color of a pale orange sherbet. Clematis has leafed out again now that it's cooler. Chile plants are now very ornamental. Parsley, basil, thyme, and marjoram are recovering from the damage done by whatever noctural creatures love greenery; rosemary never suffers. Someone couldn't resist some bargain bulbs of Martinette (new to us, these look a lot like Suzy from the picture--yellow perianth and orange cup), along with Minnow (always a favorite), Thalia, and a few other odds and ends. They went into the ground last weekend, so that's done with. By next weekend perhaps it will be worth getting out the rake for pecan leaves. Four o'clocks are nearly done blooming and some of them are beginning to break down. Leaves of allium, oxblood lily, and lycoris radiata are visible everywhere. Turk's cap is producing some "apples." The grass has pretty much gone dormant. It's not brown, but it's not growing much, either.