November 3
Cleaned up the gardens, moistly -- I left a few things still standing. Snow is coming tomorrow and freezes and more snow during the week. It's time.
But how beautiful and fresh some things were. The Radio Red salvias that I had not yet chopped back had beautiful green leaves and brilliant scarlet flowers -- the red monardellas too. Orange zinnias looked bright and fresh.
But all were cut back or taken out or moved to the garage to get ready for true cold weather.
The Kintzley's Ghost vine is yellow this year, very odd with the white bracts.
All of the fragrant sumacs have colored up now and all are completely yellow. Not a sign of copper or red this year.
I brought the hoses in and took off the birdbath bowl to store, and emptied the rain barrel. Brought the patio cushions in the garage too.
I cut down the anemone, it will blacken in the freeze. Other things I left. I trimmed a lot off the rosemary, it had gotten big and was encroaching on the narrow walkway.
It was only 42 degrees out and it sprinkled lightly. A chilly, damp morning for these chores, but I got it all done.
Now we wait for snow.
November 1
The fall anemone -- I need to do something about it. I think I need to take it out. It isn't doing what I wanted.
It's a nice size now, rounded and full and leafy, but not big enough to fill the lower window for the bit of privacy I wanted.
The foliage gets a bit tattered and if it is not watered enough it crisps. In a good freeze it blackens and needs to be cut back and of course all winter there is nothing to look at.
The flowers aren't much. This is September Charm, not the more upright shell pink flowered Robustissima. The flowers are down facing and brief.
But the real problem is that it is sending out runners like crazy. I thought it would be more controlled in this dry environment, but of course it gets watered.
It is seriously invading the plumbago beneath it. I pull up runners constantly. I really think it needs to come out. I'll still have to pull tiny runners if I do get the main plant out, but eventually I can get rid of them all I think.
I had babied this along for the first years to get it to do anything!
What to put in its place that would be full and a little taller, with more visual weight and less maintenance? A shrub. Evergreen. I just want to screen the lower part of the big window, where I sit on the couch, fully visible to the outside and framed.
The spot gets shade from the cottonwood, and eastern sun in winter. The only evergreen shrubs that would be small but tall enough to cover the lower window are . . .
Alberta spruce?
Another Green Tower boxwood?
What about a viburnum there? A showy big shrub rose?
Sooner Plant Farm has this really cool evergreen viburnum, narrow upright, called Yardline, only 3 to 4 feet wide but 10 feet tall. That would fill much of the window and anchor that end of the garden with the plumbagos beneath.
It's a zone 7 viburnum, so a little iffy for our winters, although the map now says we are 7a here.
But that may be too much.
I'm liking the idea of a rose bush, although it won't be evergreen. Andrea's garden has big bush roses tucked in and around all her plants all over and they look great. Roses are workhorse plans in Santa Fe.
I liked the Blushing Pink Knockout in my old garden a lot -- the cherry red Knockouts not so much and those were taken out.
But the Blushing Pink was so fragrant and delicate and had a lot of form and presence. How would it look here under the window?
Lemon yellow columbines would be blooming at the same time -- the knockout rose flowers in mid May when the columbines do, but then keeps going long after the columbines are gone by.
Pink and yellow, not great?
But both the columbines and the pink knockout are a clear, sugary looking color, so they might be nice together.
And then later the red lambsear blooms and a few of the white veronicas and I can even transplant some of the clear white Crystal Peak obedient plants I just potted up. That would all go well together.
Blushing Pink Knockout should be easy to find. The height would come up over the sill of the window at least. The fragrance might come in the open window in summer. The fullness and form would be nice there.
Right now in early November, that's my plan. Take out the anemone (and all its little runners) and plant a Blushing Pink Knockout rose. 💥