Ginkgo biloba 'Mariken' and Callicarpa 'Profusion'

I just took pictures of my dwarf ginkgo and beautyberry plants, as they are each showing off their fall colors. Both plants are planted in my upper driveway area, where they are easily viewed. We need to see our fall/winter interest plants!

I have two of the Profusion Beautyberry pants. This one was a gift from my mom, as were many of my special plants, so I remember her as I walk through my garden. It is packed with berries now, and they will thin out as the birds discover them.

 I have two dwarf ginkgo plants in pots and one in the ground. This one is doing so well. It has been in this pot next to the driveway for about three years. I add small plants around it, such as these heuchera and callibrachoa (in spring/summer). It gets plenty of sun and is watered in summer with drip irrigation. The gold color of its fall leaves is striking. I hope the leaves stay on a little longer for us to enjoy it.

Overwintering hardy bananas in storage room this year

I was going to wrap the bananas this year, so they would grow taller next year, but I decided to dig them up and keep in pots in my storage room. It seemed easier, and I can divide and have more plants.
So here is how they look after a messy job. I had John's help digging, which was wonderful.

Replaced Cornus florida with a Hamamelis int. 'Diane'

With help from John, I dug out the Cornus florida (the type of flowering dogwood that is so prone to Anthracnose). I bought a witch hazel to replace it. These need about 12' x 12', so this space should be nice for it. It will have a nice background of arborvitae.

Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesii' - Doublefile viburnum

A quick post with a photo of my hillside, showing the lovely color of the double-file viburnum. This variety starts turning a lovely bronze color in July! The first year, I thought they were planted in too much sun, so I moved them from their original location to the hillside. Then I learned that the color change is a feature of this variety. Well, I am happy to have them as a feature planting on my hillside. I started with five plants, but I now have seven, because I started some new plants from cuttings. I am lucky there is plenty of room for them in this location. I like to place plants where they have room to grow to their mature sizes (and beyond) without having to prune. They look much better in their natural shape, and it is less work.

The photo also shows the hardy fuchsia 'Army Nurse', still blooming away. I just counted and discovered I have 21 different varieties of hardy fuchsia growing in my yard (three plants of most varieties).

Japanese-inspired garden in 4 seasons

I submitted the following photos of this little garden area for a contest about seasonal gardens.

Summer:

Winter:

Spring:

 Fall:

Callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion' - Beautyberry plant

My Beautyberry plant is looking great now. It will also look striking when the leaves fall off, leaving just the iridescent purple berries (until the birds eat them). I have two bushes, and I just bought two more to give as gifits to my lovely daughter-in-law and to her mother.

Young hummingbird (and over-wintering tender plants)

I was able to get pretty close to a young hummingbird just now, while resting on my palm.  He (or she?) is fluffy, so that's why I think it is juvenile. I especially liked getting the photos with open beak.

It's probably early to do this, but I got my tender plants inside my storage area. I cut back more than half the Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet). I'm going to try to over-winter Mandevilla this year. The begonias are in vermiculite.