October 2012 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Hi everyone
Jennie here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, USA.  I am trying to upload some autumn tint photographs I took today on a lovely trip through the mountains into Tennessee.  However, I am trying to load them from a Mac which I am not used to - so this is a dummy run to see if the photos are too big

Jennie, thanks for thinking of us while you're on your travels!  I think we'll cope with the photos in the circumstances!! Great to see the Fall colour direct from the USA from a British forum traveller 

Enjoy your trip!!

[meanie]

Meanie,

 

Wow, what an impatiens.  I want to grow that!!

Back of the queue for that one Paul! Mind you, if you succeed in tracking one down let me know.

My problem with growing passiflora in pots is their demand of water. I am away several weeks every summer and nobody waters the pots so I have to grow drought tolerant plants in them

I see your problem.

[Paul T]

Back of the queue for that one Paul! Mind you, if you succeed in tracking one down let me know.

Oh, so that's how it is, is it?  Back of the queue for me, but if I happen to find it then put you at the top of the queue?  Harsh!!

 

[meanie]

Oh, so that's how it is, is it?  Back of the queue for me, but if I happen to find it then put you at the top of the queue?  Harsh!!

 

Doesn't seem that harsh from my seat!

Seriously though, anything even close to that has alluded me so far

[Paul T]

Meanie,

I've rarely seen any interesting Impatiens around here.  I did have tricolor(?) a few years ago, but it unfortunately never set seed so I never was able to keep it going.  I didn't get cuttings taken early enough and the frosts took it.  A lovely long banded flower.  I just love that blackish one though.... I had not idea that they came in anything even remotely as dark as that.  I collect black flowers wherever possible. 

[meanie]

Paul - not sure if this is available over there................

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/garden-shop/seeds/new-seeds/various/lisianthus.-nigrescens-flower-of-death-20-seeds

[johnw]

I have been strong-armed to post these photos of local colour.   Driving through the Annapolis Valley a week or so ago was like driving though a forest fire.  Unfortunately I neglected to take any pictures but a friend unexpectedly sent me a few.  The first is of sugar maples and the second the view from his back window.

The last a bizarre Long African Gourd I spied at a small farm market along the way.

johnw

[Maggi Young]

I have been strong-armed to post these photos of local colour.   Driving through the Annapolis Valley a week or so ago was like driving though a forest fire.  Unfortunately I neglected to take any pictures but a friend unexpectedly sent me a few.  The first is of sugar maples and the second the view from his back window.

The last a bizarre Long African Gourd I spied at a small farm market along the way.

johnw

John,  that colour is beyond fabulous and a delight to see.

I was wondering how those long gourds grow- I've never seen them on a plant -  found this You-Tube clip of these monsters, grown on  a VERY tall framework....

[johnw]

Just in flower here..... Spiranthes odorata.

johnw

[krisderaeymaeker]

Just in flower here..... Spiranthes odorata.
johnw

What a nice and healthy looking Spiranthes John !And the autumncolour looks great to .

Earlier this week we had stil 24 degrees but today only 7 degrees and maybe this night first nightfrost.

The season comes to the end outside in the garden . Tough stil in flower today : 
1/ Heterotheca jonesii : what a good plant with a very long flowering period .
2/ Gentiana 'Silken Star Group '
3/ And if the flowering stops , the cushions in the alpine house gets our attention ....Raoulia x loganii   

[Garden Prince]

"50 Shades of Autumn 2012"

[annew]

Gorgeous!

[Tim Ingram]

Ditto!

[kentish_lass]

I have been strong-armed to post these photos of local colour.   Driving through the Annapolis Valley a week or so ago was like driving though a forest fire.  Unfortunately I neglected to take any pictures but a friend unexpectedly sent me a few.  The first is of sugar maples and the second the view from his back window.

The last a bizarre Long African Gourd I spied at a small farm market along the way.

johnw

Wow John - the colour of those sugar maples is incredible.  I am a few weeks late getting here to the mountains for tints and the maples are all finished although there are a few lovely ones around the shopping malls.   The bad weather here now is stripping the remaining leaves and snow is one the way.

Jennie

[Leon]

I have been moving plants inside for the past few weeks.  I now notice some plants have some unwanted hitch-hikers.  A plant of Homalocladium platycladum has scale on the stems.  My experience has shown that scale is worse on stems than leaves and plants that have a lot of stem are more susceptible to scale than leafy plants.  I do hope oil spray will cure the scale problem.