The End of the Line - Picture This Photo Contest

The theme for this month's photo contest at Gardening Gone Wild is "The End of the Line," and guest judge Joshua McCullough is looking for that to be shown literally, symbolically or metaphorically. I've tried to combine all three into one, along with a touch a humor.

This headstone is from a cemetery a short walk from my house. The oldest graves, such the subject of my entry, date from the late 19th Century. There's even the grave of one of the former owners of the land of which Squirrelhaven was once a part.

It's a charming little cemetery, but easily missed by busy commuters passing it by every day. November is the month of remembrance, with All Souls' Day and Veteran's Day. It's a time to reflect on the transient nature of life, and to give thanks for the wonderful people in it and the joys we so often take for granted.

The Late Roses

On Halloween, I took the kids in their costumes over to my parents' house. I was shocked to find that two of my mom's Roses were still blooming, despite several freezes. (My Rose hasn't bloomed since August, and the Roses in the main garden at my parents' house are done blooming.) The towering orange one pictured above is in a decent microclimate against the brick wall on the east side of the house. The David Austin Rose 'Sharifa Asma' (below, paired up perfectly with a Mum) is in the coveted position of tucked beneath the bay window on the south side of the house.With such microclimates, these Roses can continue churning out blooms until the real cold sets in.

The concern is that the serious cold won't arrive on time. That seems like an odd concern, but my mom and I recall the year, not so long ago, when we had an extended fall, and the Roses were blooming into December. Mom lost nearly all of her Roses that year because when the cold suddenly hit in January, their tissues hadn't hardened up and they froze. 'Sharifa Asma' and 'Zepherine Drouhin' (on the east side against the house) were the only survivors. The microclimates protected them that time. I hope it will again. It would be a shame if these became late Roses.

Do They Know Something, or Are They Just Confused?

What's wrong with this picture? (Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum)


While planting some bulbs today, I thought it was a good time to divide and replant some spring ephemerals while they were dormant. Only they weren't exactly dormant. Am I confused, or are these Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) sprouting prematurely?

Is this a sign of a mild winter, or will this Trillium grandiflorum be in for a rude shock?I've never noticed it sprouting in fall. Maybe it just needs more soil on top of it.

But then, poking around a bit, I saw that the Snowdrops (Galanthus elwesii) are sprouting, and that a Daffodil I dug up accidentally was also sprouting.

And then there's this Hellebore that has never really stopped blooming.Now it's got its color back and, frankly it's starting to look like spring out there. I know the weather's been a little strange lately, but really, isn't this a bit much?