End of Autumn

GOING - GOING - 

EVEN TH0UGH IT'S THE MOST BRILLIANT SCARLET IN THE WORLD, WE KNOW THESE LEAVES ARE IN THEIR DYING THROES AND  ON THE WAY OUT. 

Vitis amurensis - (Scarlet Ornamental Grape) spreads itself along my front verandah. I am one of those smitten gardeners who has given this vine the most important spot in the garden where it can clamber and spread itself along the front verandah in full view of passersby who often remark upon it,

This stunning red leafed vine is not to be confused with Virginia Creeper - Parthenocissus quinquefolia - a climber which sports bright red autumn foliage and hales - we presume - from Virginia in the good old U.S. of A!

The climber pictured above with the red foliage above is not Virginia Creeper, but - to me the much more exotic vine - Vitis amurensis (Scarlet Grape).  It is native to the area around the Amur river which forms the border in the far East between China and Siberia.  
Can you get much more exotic that that??
This vine has long been adopted by gardeners in the west, as it's larger grape like foliage is so decorative and changes to such a brilliant red in autumn.  I am one of those smitten gardeners, who have given this ornamental Scarlet Grape the most important spot in the garden.  It clambers and spreads itself along my front verandah, showing itself off to the street where it is often remarked upon by passersby throughout summer when it is green, and thought of  as a fruiting grape.​
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GONE!

Fast changing into winter mode when there is just a leaf or two clinging for dear life on to the bare branches.
​​Like the regular grape vine it does grow rampantly, which means I need to capture and train it along my verandah, keeping it  clipped over summer, as it sends out great long tendrils everywhere! 
Also in winter it has to be pruned mercilessly to keep it contained to the verandah so  it doesn't spread all over the roof of the house which I know it would love to do!
  It is a visual treat rather than an edible treat, as although it does produce bunches of little grape-like fruits, they look so hard and inedible that I have never been tempted to taste one.
Everyone takes it as an edible grape vine throughout summer when it is green, as it certainly can easily be mistaken as that, and  I am often asked if the fruit is sweet? good? 
But when I tell people it doesn't produce edible grapes they begin to look  disinterested, and I can see them wondering why on earth I would bother to grow it? 
​That ever practical Kiwi streak comes out again and again - if you can't eat it or use it in some way - why bother?  They find it difficult to believe that I would want to grow it just for it's beauty and autumn colour??  What use is that??



​​I don't bother to explain that to me, colour and beauty is as important as food or drink!   

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 I don't have to go far to see the branches are already bare reflecting in the cold water of the Avon River. 
There is already a glimmer of orange or pink in that water which means that even though it is just around the corner, the pink sunsets of winter are almost here and in spite of those bare trees, winter is not entirely devoid of colour, despite golden leaves long dropped from the trees.

The spent sunflower leaning over my front fence into the street, tells me it is Autumn, and when it flops right over onto the ground, I will know it is winter!

By late autumn the bright red leaves are beginning to drop, leaving the vine bare and twiggy as cold takes over, and winter begins. When the vine is totally denuded, that is when we will really begin to shiver--r-r-rrrr.

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​​So soon???

G00DBYE  AUTUMN - HELLO WINTER

The sunflower has flopped which means winter is early this year, so I spoke to winter saying "I wish you had waited a little longer before you made your appearance".  Of course it took no notice, because although there is no snow here yet, it has already made an appearance up there on those mountains to the west of us!
YOU CAN FEEL IT
Sometimes we have a balmy May and we wonder if winter might even pass us by - but not this year!   Br-rr-rr.  There are people already skiing on those mountains which we can see so dramatically  from our city on a clear day - snowy white mountains!!

ALL OF THIS MAKES ME WONDER WHAT TREATS WE WILL HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE WINTER GARDEN??
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