September Splendor

I don’t normally post so frequently, but I ran across these photos I took late last summer of some of my fruiting bonsai when I was trying to find the ‘before’ pictures of the juniper in yesterday’s post. These are still in their early development, and I’m keeping them mainly for the appreciation of their flowers and fruit. We often miss out on that with these bonsai as we are constantly removing the growth that produces flowers and fruit until they are quite mature; it’s worth the trouble and wait, however, because more branches equal more flowers and fruit.

Here’s a pinot grape cutting I acquired from Dennis Vojtilla a couple of years ago that has fruited for me for the first time in a handmade pot by Mardella Brock:

 

And a close up of that cluster of grapes

 

I love all the different colors of each individual grape! Here’s a native gooseberry Ribes lobbii, or pioneer gooseberry, collected in the Oregon Cascades:

 

It sits in another pot by Mardella Brock, of Bozeman, Montana. And a close up of the fruits:

 

I wish I could say they are as tasty as they are beautiful, but they are only slightly sweet and mealy with an aftertaste something like tomato. My variegated porcelain berry set some fruit also. These display the multi-colored fruits on the same vine that the grape does. Porcelain berry starts out green when unripe, then turns purple, then blue, then turquoise and finally white when fully ripe. These are edible as well but are only slightly sweet. Birds like them:

 

Another shot with more berries:

 

I’ve had this little pomegranate, Punica granatum ‘nana’ since 1995. It has flowered and fruited over the years and this year put out lots of flowers:

It made one fruit this fall that dropped shortly after bringing it indoors for the winter. I thought I’d leave you with this accent plant that flowered well this year, it’s common self-heal, Prunella vulgaris. I dug it from the lawn and potted it in a tuna can:

 

And a detail of the flowers:

 

The individual flowers remind me of orchids. Thanks for stopping by for a look. See you next time!