last of the roses

These are almost certainly the last of the fall roses.

 With the cooler temperatures, and a nice rainstorm, 'William Shakespeare 2000' has put out one big 4"+ flower.

 So has 'Falstaff', which I'm pleased to note, now has a delightful fragrance - old rose scent, but with an indescribable sweetness added.

'Falstaff' has, to me, the most beautiful blossoms of any red rose that I know of.

 'Old Blush' has always had at least a few flowers on it since it started in the spring.

 Not much fragrance, and not much form, but very floriferous.

 I wish 'Bolero' would give me the nicely formed flowers that I know he's capable of.

 But no, all my 'Bolero' roses give me lumpy misshapen, thrip damaged flowers for most of the season.

 This one at least is getting close. The flowers are well scented, and the plants are very nice (bushy, compact, with glossy disease-free foliage), but too bad the flowers are so ugly.

Does rosemary count? 'Gorizia' is taking advantage of the fall weather as well.

goldrush

This is the third growing season for my apple trees. 'Goldrush' is the only one that has produced any apples of significance, and it is the first year for it to produce. I had one or two apples on my 'Calville Blanc d'Hiver' and on my 'Ashmead's Kernal' but the birds got to them before they ripened. Maybe next year. They got a few of the 'Goldrush' also.

I don't know if the apples will be the same every year, but 'Goldrush' so far has been tart and honeyed (the tart is said to mellow with storage) with very yellow flesh as the name would indicate. I baked one into an apple pie (mixed with store-bough 'Granny Smith'), and the result was more like a potato than an apple, in that they were rather solid and potato-like when cooked, the bright yellow flesh stood out in the pie in contrast to the Grannies, and the flavor was rather bland.  I might try again after the apples age a few weeks.

purple yam

I tried growing a purple yam this year. The one plant grew 15 feet wide (yes I paced it out) and very lush. I  thought I would dig it up today since there are some leaves just starting to turn yellow.

 Here's the first one!

crocus speciosus

I know it's fall when Crocus speciosus makes its appearance.

Always such a pleasant surprise at a time of year that gets a little depressing.