Autumn In The Garden ~ Changes Within and Without...

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."  

~o~ George Eliot ~o~

Gorgeous, very large red zinnia

Zinnia fading and going to seed, a touching kind of beauty...

Breath-taking David Austin English rose, 'Julia Child" which
is extremely fragrant and has bloomed steadily since spring
when most have given up the ghost in our summer heat. But
ah, the roses are starting to come back now that the weather
is cooling off and as I have planted roughly 40 roses here so
far it should be quite a show...

Delicate forget-me-nots are everywhere just now, one
of my favorite flowers...

 Hibiscus Syriacus, woody stemmed perennial

Red "Dinner plate" Hibiscus moschuetos. Soft stemmed
shrubby perennial here in the south with stunning, huge
flowers in pinks, reds, and whites. I have them planted
everywhere here and they are a glory!

Hibiscus Syriacus 'Satin Blue," so much bluer in person.
Alas, very often blue flowers are very difficult to photograph
and get the truly distinct blues...

I grow a great many varieties of hibiscus in my garden, the
common ones, and I collect the named varieties, cultivated
for their special beauty. Of all of the many in my garden,
far too many to show here, I believe this is my favorite. It
is in the moschuetos family and is called 'Turn of the
Century'...

This rose will always be my favorite. A very
soft, almost seashell pink, extremely fragrant,
and blooms like topsy from spring through
autumn, David Austin's English rose,
'Heritage."

One of my very favorite flowers for hanging baskets
which I have all over the porch and deck and hanging
from shepherd hooks around the garden. This is
calibrachoa and comes in several colors. This one
is on the deck just outside my studio windows...

This is what I call my "Growing On" garden. I had these boxes
built to start very tiny slips and baby plants in the spring to be
planted in the fall. Most of what you see are named hibiscus
cultivars, plus a number of perennials that are now big enough
to go in the ground. There are also closed off sections on each
side of the back where I plant the flavored mints that would
take over the world if left in open spaces, and they are so
fragrant they could take your breath away. My favorites
are the candymint, and chocolate mint but I have quite a
few. Other herbs for cooking grow along the back section
as well...

Lovely Lycoris, also often called "Naked Ladies" here in
the south because they stand tall on a straight strong
stalk with no leaves at all. These are volunteers in my
garden and quite a delight they are. This is my 3rd
summer here and I didn't plant them and they were
nowhere to be seen the first summer. Last year they
started popping up EVERYWHERE and they are
gorgeous. I was thrilled to see them back again
this year!

A bouquet of roses on a single stem...

Fungi madness! This is on a tree stump near the deck and it is
only one of many places fungi have gone wild this summer.
Wee little mushrooms have popped up everywhere, a great
variety, but since I am not an experienced mycologist and
cannot tell a mushroom from a poisonous toadstool with
very few exceptions, I leave them be and the fairies frolic
under and around them and bring delightful magic to the
garden...


These are but a very few of the wonders growing here at Dragonfly Cottage. I took a great many pictures over the summer but with the intense heat, and problems popping up here and there with repairs, the photos stayed in the camera and are just too many now to post. I shall have to do a little PDF file to share some time this fall perhaps.

And so autumn is here at long last, and I, too, agree with George Eliot. My very soul is wedded to it. Since I was a little girl this has always been my favorite time of year, and I miss, badly, the cool crisp weather and changing colors of the leaves that I grew up with in the midwest. We get a bit of nice cool weather, later than most, but the leaves never change and we get very little snow. I really miss the full four seasons.

Now, at 58, autumn seems ever more poignant as this is the autumn of my life, and, like the season in nature, this season of my life is my favorite so far. Such a mellowing comes with age, and even amidst the hard days and sorrows, the ups and downs of life, there is a warm golden hue cast over all of the days now, for me, and I am so filled with gratitude, every single moment, gathering up the treasures that daily come my way and putting them in the basket I carry over my arm as I walk with my pugs in our woods, and sing hosannas in praise for all that we have been given. I am so happy at this time of the year. Just so peaceful, and it is even easier to breathe, and I move more gently through my days, and the silence around me is soon flooded with the sounds of the wild ones outside, the most beautiful music in the world to me.

I wish you beautiful autumn days wherever you are. We have entered the season of thanksgiving. There is so much to be grateful for...