Thursday, October 31, 2013

New additions

There are five little trees in the bucket, plus the pot on the left
They may not look like much, but the six new Japanese maples in the photo above make my heart sing! Technically, there are four new ones (Odiro nishiki, Beni shichihenge, Ryuzu and Kinshi), a second specimen of one I already have and adore (Mikawa yatsubusa), and 'Little Gem,' a sport of Vine Maple (Acer circinatum), our native Pacific NW counterpart of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum). The four smaller trees have already lost their leaves, but the two biggest ones are still sporting some of the variegated foliage for which they were selected.
Beni shichihenge – the last one the nursery had


Orido nishiki, the biggest of the new additions
Now to decide on their permanent locations, and whether to plant them now or later. Thanks, Mom!

Last night I finished my second Cat's Paw Beanie; I'm calling this one Purple Paws:
This hat took 52g of yarn; I have 50g left and need to decide whether to make another beanie (I'm confident I could modify it a tad for the yardage), or make a pair of fingerless mitts to match. Of course, that would require making up another pattern, and I'm not sure I have the time or mental energy for that right now!

Our long stretch of sunny days came to an end yesterday, but not before I captured this shot of Bart in lovely light:

That's it for October from . . .

8 comments:

thecrazysheeplady said...

I have had a new appreciation for Japanese Maples from reading your blog. Fingerless mitts will be no problem for you and Bart IS lovely!

The Dancing Donkey said...

Those trees are lovely, I had no idea they came in so many varieties. The cap and Bart are lovely too:)

Laura said...

There is a Nishiki willow that's variegated, too. The new shoots are pink, and the foliage is green and white. Sounds like Nishiki, whoever he was/is, has been busy!! Beautiful!

Michelle said...

Glad I've contributed to your appreciation, Sara. ;-)

DD, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of cultivars. One could spend a lifetime studying, collecting and appreciating them!

Laura, 'nishiki' means means "brocade" or something flamboyant in Japanese, so is part of many Japanese maple cultivar names.

Anonymous said...

I love those variegated leaves on the maples! I think I'm going to wait until spring to purchase my Leyland cypress trees so I have time to decide where to put them. I love that cap... how cute! I'm always a sucker for fingerless mitts :D Isn't Bart a handsome boy?!
Hugs,
Beth

Anonymous said...

those are some pretty fancy maples- very pretty. And what a great photo of Bart! the composition is just perfect

Tina T-P said...

your new maples will make a lovely addition to your garden. How about making a button cowl to match the hat - those are pretty simple and you could add that cat's paw to one, I would think. (although I don't knit, so who am I to say...)

Although I have clownaphobia, Brian makes a very good one. Congratulations to him on his win. T.

Mary Ann said...

I'd go for the mittens and have a match!