Fall's Last Gasp

There are still plants in the yard changing color, even in January. Below is our Fantasy grapevine, planted just a few months ago on the north side of the house. This one is supposed to produce black seedless grapes later in the season than our Flame grape vine that's growing over our back porch.

The last picture below is a random weed that's sprouted on the same side of the yard, which stays shaded and damp this time of year any time we get any sort of rain. There have been times in years past where a large portion of this side of the yard is covered in various weeds by the end of the spring.

The only other plant I can think of that might change before spring is our bush river willow, if we're lucky it will turn dull shades of purple before it's leaves fall off.

As one set of plants are going dormant, others are springing to life, no pun intended. Our hardenbergia (lilac) vine is covered in buds, ready for it's mid-January blooming period, which lasts about a month. From a distance, this vine almost looks like a grape vine, from the many clusters of purple flowers it produces. The leaf cutter bees have a field day when this vine is in bloom, both feeding, and cutting perfect circles in the leaves. I'll post some pictures when this yearly event occurs.