Get Cannas for Free! Serendipity Gardens Recipe!

Jo Ellen Roe November 11, 2013 0 Comments

A Shocking Change

We began having cannas in Serendipity Gardens three years ago, when we bought two sweet-potato sized tubers at the Farmer’s Market for $1 each. They looked all brown and wrinkled.

“How can something this dried up and dead looking ever bloom?” I wondered. Nevertheless, following the directions I had been given, I planted the tubers about three inches deep, in good rich soil, in a sunny location.

They took their time. More than once, I decided they were dead, and that this was a lost cause (a habit of mine). Eventually, however, green leaves emerged, and more quickly than you would imagine, they grew into eight-foot tall plants sporting bright red blooms. They looked fabulous and provided a lovely contrast to plants with smaller leaves growing nearby! ... Read More

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The Other Mascot at Serendipity Gardens: Buster, the Cat

Jo Ellen Roe November 5, 2013 0 Comments

Buster

Not long ago, I introduced readers to Nestle, our chocolate Labrador Retriever. Nestle is one of the mascots of Serendipity Gardens. She is the sweet one.

The other mascot is Buster the cat. Buster came to us in 2002, a gift from a grandson who had rescued him from life on the street. When he was a kitten, we marveled at the size of his paws and ears.

“He’s going to be a big cat,” we said, over and over. That prophecy has come true. Buster weighs just over 20 pounds, and he is not really fat — just big. Unlike Nestle, who is unfailingly sweet, Buster has a mean streak. He is my “sweet, mean kittycat.” ... Read More

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Fall Paints the Trees at Serendipity Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe October 31, 2013 2 Comments

Gorgeous fall color2

Fall is without doubt one of the prettiest times of the year in Serendipity Gardens. I took this photo in my front yard, from an angle that allows several layers of color to stack up against each other.

I think it’s gorgeous! How about you?

What you see here, from front to back, are:

  • Fronds of annual red ornamental grass  (in a pot)
  • Yellow chrysanthemums
  • Autumn brilliance serviceberry tree
  • Burning bush
  • Yellow maple
  • Green trees and shrubs that, on October 29, had not begun to turn color or drop leaves

Why Does It Happen?

Because I am always curious about why the leaves change color and never seem to remember the story from one year to the next, I looked it up.

The shortening days and cooler temperatures of fall give the tree the message: it’s time to get ready for winter. In simple terms, the trees “know” that the leaves are their weakest link when it comes to surviving winter’s cold. Thus, they have to discard them. So they develop a layer of cells at the base of each leaf that seal if off. The orange and yellow colors are there all along, masked by the green chlorophyll of summer. As the leaf, separated from its energy source, begins to die, the chlorophyll stops its production of food and breaks down, leaving the fall colors to shine. Additional chemical changes create autumn’s red, purple and more vivid orange. ... Read More

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Big Green Blobs, You’re Outta Here!

Jo Ellen Roe October 28, 2013 0 Comments

Forsythia

The most recent Grow Write Guild’s writing prompt asks what in my garden I’d most like to get rid of.

The answer for me, here at Serendipity Gardens, is easy: two giant forsythia shrubs in the front yard, shown in this photo as the two green blobs on the left and right. These shrubs are quite old. They were fully grown when we moved to Serendipity Gardens 11 years ago.

We left them unpruned for three or four years. I wanted them to look natural, whereas the previous owner preferred to shape them into a ball. But they grew so large that they took over the yard, so pruning became a must. It took my husband a day to do, crawling around under the shrub — and when he was done, we had two pickup truck loads of branches to take to the recycling facility! ... Read More

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Snake Eats Frog at Serendipity Gardens … a Backyard Ecosystem at Work

Jo Ellen Roe October 22, 2013 0 Comments

Snake eats frog

When I first began Serendipity Gardens, over nine years ago, I wanted lots of flowers. I didn’t much care about building a backyard habitat.

Over the years, however, as I’ve watched the creatures who make their home there work and play, live and die, I’ve come to care very much about building a backyard habitat and respecting the ecosystem that has developed.

I have come to believe that while I cannot repair or replace all the animal habitat that is lost every day, month, and year, I can maintain my backyard ecosystem. If more people did the same, surely it would help. ... Read More

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