Happy Thanksgiving!!

Gathering Leaves...
by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

Holy bananas, batman!!

When it comes to gardening, one of the things I love the most is that there is always something new and exciting to be learned or discovered. Despite the cold temperatures (currently it is 15 degrees) and snowy landscape, I am dreaming of a few additions I will be making in the garden come spring. This Ensete Maurelii - Red Abyssinian Banana grows to 10' tall in temperate climates, and the leaves can grow to 10' long. I love the red that appears on new growth as well as underneath the leaves.


Canna 'Panache' is a bit different from other cannas. It's delicate rosy-apricot blooms are orchid-like and great at attracting hummingbirds. Visit the Gardener's Journal for some great information on overwintering both bananas and cannas. It's pretty easy to do, and worthwhile if you want to add some tropicals to your garden, but are lacking the tropical climate. I am also anticipating the arrival of two other additions: my English Rose 'Evelyn,' which bears giant, apricot-colored flowers of a shallow, saucer-like shape, with numerous small petals inter-twined within. And last, but not least, Hypericum moseranum 'Albury Purple,' with the colorful orange-yellow blooms and purple-tinted foliage. I have found the zoning information on this one to be a bit confusing, but I am determined to give it a try.

'Evelyn'
Hypericum moseranum 'Albury Purple'