The colours of autumn

The rake is leaning against the rowan tree which is almost red.  The self sown rowan seedling in the pot is a beautiful red and the leaves may stay for another week or two.  The rowan tree seems to be the last to lose all its leaves.  The yellow in the background is the cherry tree and the leaves on the lawn are from the Manchurian pear, which started the season with a range of colours from yellow to red.

The leaves are not the only colourful features in the garden.  The chrysanthemum in mauve and red are still looking good.

Not to be outdone the last of the sunflower stands tall.  The cockatoos have been busy on the rowan tree and hopefully will not notice this single sunflower.

pomegranate

Earlier I posted pictures of the fruits on my pomegranate tree.  I have picked a few of the fruits and I am enjoying the sweet juiciness of the ruby seeds.
This tree has a long history.  Over twenty years ago, a friend with a crowded garden needed some space for more planting so she decided her pomegranate tree had to go.  She offered it to me and together we dug up the tree (at least over twelve years old) and I managed to trim the top so it would fit in my car.  I planted the tree next to my compost heap in my previous garden.  The tree grew and produced fruits.  I taught my daughter to do air-layering (marcotting) for propagating and she did it on the pomegranate.  We forgot about the branch and a couple of years later I removed the plastic and coconut fibre wrapped around the air-layered branch and I found healthy roots.  I cut the branch and planted it in a pot and it stayed there, behaving like a bonsai.  When I moved to this garden the pomegranate was planted in the ground and it took off.  I was also successful by just sticking a branch in a pot and forgetting about it.  I knew I was successful when I noticed new growth sprouting.

Jerusalem artichoke

I have a small patch of Jerusalem artichoke in my outside garden.  I contain the patch, not wanting this vegetable to spread all over the garden.  The Jerusalem artichoke, which some people mistake for ginger has a habit of spreading tubers beyond their patch.  This is an easy to grow vegetable, good for roasting, stir-frying and making a delicious soup, especially with carrots.  I put back some of the tubers to grow, adding compost and manure to ensure good size tubers.  Planted now the tubers will be ready to harvest next autumn.

feijoa

I picked up these feijoas from under the tree in my outside garden.  I have another tree in the garden, with a few quite large fruits.  They will drop when they are ready.

still ripening

There are still vegetables and fruits waiting to ripen on the trees and bushes.  The only pumpkin in my garden is a butternut growing in one of the garden boxes.  A few seedlings appeared in spring and I pulled out all but one, which grew along the cucumber vine, which has long gone.  Only one fruit set on the pumpkin vine and I don't know if there'll be enough warmth to ripen it.  Even if it is not fully ripened I can still cook the butternut but I don't expect it to be great.

There are still a few chillies and capsicum waiting to ripen but this shiny red capsicum I picked after taking the picture.

Another capsicum.

Chillies, red and green.

I could have left these Granny Smith apples on the tree a bit longer but I would lose them to the possums and cockatoos.  They were crisp and sweet with a slight tartness.

This pomegranate tree does not get a lot of sun but this year I counted nine fruits which, to me is a bumper crop.  I don't know if the fruits will turn the glorious red I see in other gardens.

Tinge of red on these fruits.

This feijoa will drop when it is ripe.  I hope to get to it before the birds as there are hundreds of them looking for a feed in the garden at any time of the day.

Autumn lilies

From the month of March the belladonna lilies begin to show off their blooms, pink and white.  The flowers appear before the scrappy leaves.  For this reason this lily is also known as the naked lady.

The lily loves hot dry condition and I have discovered that those bulbs situated in that part of the garden exposed to the sun are the ones to flower first.  I have the bulbs in different parts of the garden and it is a nice surprise when I see the flower buds making an appearance from above the fat bulbs in early autumn.

The pink serine is another autumnal lily so much loved for its simple beauty.

Capsicums and chillies

I planted a few varieties of capsicums and chillies in pots a few years ago and most of them are still with me, returning every spring to flower and fruit.  The red capsicum could wait a few more days to ripen fully but I have a dish in mind to cook.  The pale green banana capsicum is sweet and good in stir-fires.  The Scotch bonnet orange chillies was a Christmas present from a fellow gardener.  I have yet to test its hotness.  It has a reputation of being on the top end of the heat scale.  I cannot live without my chillies and would keep adding new plants to my collection.