Purple Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’) fall color
This has been a wonderful year for fall color in my neck of the woods. Conditions favoring such all came together weatherwise– from a cool, wet spring to sufficient rain throughout the summer, ending with a cool, dry September. Perfect!
shade garden in fall
While my flower beds are done for the year, and maple trees’ blaze of color is no more, there is still plenty of color as perennials fade and small shrubs flash color all over the yard. Above is my front shade garden displaying a mosaic of color. A Cotinus, which I planted in August to replace a beloved Acer I lost to canker, has been a delightful surprise with rich shades of blazing color. Some closeups:
Further along the hedge to the right, clockwise, are a mound of yellowing Weigela, brilliant red Japanese maple (Acer palmatum no ID plant sale seedling), a Christmasy (no ID) Rhododendron with older leaves that turn red behind the newer evergreen ones, and a burgundy deciduous Azalea.
Weigela, Acer, Azalea fall color
Along the front walkway, the stonewalls topped with my ‘bonus’ pumpkins, barely contain the yellow-green, red-edged Lysimachia and scarlet Geranium leaves:
Elsewhere in the yard, Korean Spicebush and Doublefile Viburnums, Oakleaf Hydrangea (H. quercifolia) blaze in burgundy and scarlet. Lacecap hydrangea (H. macrophylla) are yellow lanterns topped in rosy-purple. Fothergilla and Aronia are multi-hued showstoppers.
In the surrounding forested hills, russet Red Oaks (Quercus rubrum), butterscotch-colored Beech (Fagus grandifolia) and gold Poplars (Populus grandidentata) contrast with deep evergreen pines (Pinus strobus). It is a ephemeral show that I take in greedily, knowing it will soon to fade to the monotones of winter. For now, I’m grateful for its abundant beauty.
Our first light frost came two weeks ago and since then, there have been several more, slowly ending the garden season this year. While the annuals are the first to go, those near the warmth of the paved driveway and stonewall beds that retain heat have lingered a bit longer.
Gleaning what few blossoms that remain, I picked this little bouquet of jewel-toned beauties – Salvia ‘Black and Blue,’ deep pink Speedwell (Veronica spicata) and Hearts-ease (Viola tricolor) to put in a small silver antique bud vase. I’ve put it in the window above the kitchen sink where I can treasure these last blooms of the year.
I’m joining Robin at Breezes at Dawn for her annual 
We parked in a road pull-off, leashed the dog and set off on the old road now primarily used for logging and snowmobiling. The woodland was strewn with fallen leaves, the path edged with with moss-and-lichen-encrusted stone walls, and everywhere we looked, high or low, was beauty.
An amazing structure, given that it was built largely with horse-and-man-power, without mortar, each stone snug to the next, built to weather the tides of time.
Last fall, I tossed my rotted pumpkin behind the compost pile, hoping a seed or two would grow this year. To my delight, I found six huge pumpkins growing amongst the weeds this week. The one above was the smallest. Isn’t nature’s generosity amazing?
Continuing the harvest theme, I’ve used my grape motif pitcher for a second arrangement containing Concord grapes from vines that were here when we bought the house nearly 30 years ago. As we are not fans of grape jelly, they sadly tend to rot on the vine. I tasted one and they are quite flavorful, so I might pick some for eating later.
Eliza Waters 