Bouquet #20: Autumn Harvest

"The Amen! of Nature is always a flower."

Oliver Wendell Holmes,Sr.

Creating Interest During Four Seasons in the Garden: Landscaping Learnings Pt. 2

Another topic I learned about in my landscaping classes was how to create interest in the garden. This can mean adding varieties of plants that provide food for birds. It also means adding shrubs with colored branches, finding plants with bright colored berries, or leaving leaves and rose hips on after the fall freeze.The plant above is an Oak Leaf Mountain Ash which has leaves that are shaped beautifully and turn yellow in the fall, and have an added bonus of bright berries for interest and food for birds. The honeysuckle creates interest in the fall with the leaves transforming to yellow allowing the red berries to stand out even more.
The cotoneaster plant is a keeper for any garden. It grows quickly, has berries that draw birds and adds color, and it grows with little water or care! Now that is my kind of plant. You can divide them, propagate them, and even start them from the seeds in the berries if you are patient.Holly is always a popular plant in a bed because it does stay green in the winter causing the berries to stand out, plus it is there under the snow waiting to be harvested for holiday decor.

In another month these plants will be the showstoppers in the garden along with the shrubs that lose their leaves allowing them to show off their branches. These shrubs include the dogwood willow with its red branches and other plants with yellow branches. As we move through fall it gives this gardener more to look forward to. I have found this is a good time of year to plan for your next year's garden plantings. You can observe patterns, sizes and shapes that have changed due to growth or death, and where the holes are for color and texture.Sweet William added garden interest by showing up on the fence during the photo tour.

Creating Color During Four Seasons in the Garden:Landscaping Learnings Pt. 1

When I got serious about landscaping I made a decision to learn more about plants, flowers, and trees before I began. I read some outstanding books, I relied on information from some of my favorite magazines, and I took some local classes in landscaping. What I learned in the class about our area is you really want to plant things that provide color or texture for more than one season. I was struck by this idea as I did planning and planting in my gardens. Now, ten years later I can take pictures this time of year and be convinced that I did create color in my garden based on the information I gleaned from all my sources.Hostas provide bright color in the fall as the leaves turn yellow. Maples create different leaf colors depending on the type. This one in the backyard is a lovely mix of color right now, especially when the sun shines through the leaves.

The maple leaves out front create a lovely yellow hue.
Our red rose illustrates that summer isn't over yet, especially with two buds sitting side by side ready to bloom.
Even lilac leaves turn a distinctive color in the fall of the year. As some plants turn they are showy and add a focal point to a fall garden. Others are more subtle, but help create that mosaic of color and texture as they blend together to make autumn so glorious.

Heroes Every Day

Balto

"I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people who are convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another. " Ellen Goodman American journalist (1941 - )

In my 8th grade class we are doing a unit of study centering around heroes. We had brainstormed what makes a hero, what words describe a hero, and quotes about heroes. Today when they had to sit down and compose a narrative about an act of heroism it was hard at first.

We had read about Balto and his heroism as a sled dog in Alaska last year and remembered that courageous act. They mentioned other big events like 911 and heroic acts that involved people being found by search and rescue dogs. That hadn't happened in our town with people they knew.

As we began to discuss other acts of heroism other people came to mind. One girl wrote about her mom being her hero because she went to work every day even when it was difficult because she wanted to be a stay- at-home mom. Another student remembered an aunt being a hero as she fought a difficult battle with liver disease and tried to raise her daughter while dying.

These heroes we meet in our everyday life are often the ones that touch are hearts deeper. Students were still moved by the dog that saved a family in a fire and the rescue workers in the coal mine. They did return to the heroic acts that were closer to home like their classmate returning to school and working hard after his mother ended up in a coma. He was their hero. We all remembered another classmate that returned to school the day after losing her niece to SIDS, keeping a brave smile on her face.

I look forward to our continued study of heroes and my students' observations and thoughts as we read stories, poetry, and news articles around the theme.

Seeking Comfort by the Fire

When JEJ enclosed the patio last spring he had one last project to do to make the job complete. He had gotten an old Franklin stove free a few years ago and we didn't have a place for it. We do love wood heat. We heat with wood in the house and also have a fireplace outside. Who couldn't resist another stove, especially if it was free? He got the stove set up so we could seek comfort by the fire this afternoon. As we relaxed, listened to the rain, and sat and read. Our kitten Kit decided he wanted to experience this comfort by the fire stuff. He cuddled up with Annie near the stove and decided it was the best seat in the house!

The Farewell to Summer Tour of the Gardens

As much as I love autumn, I also feel a sadness as we prepare to put the gardens to bed for winter. In recent days I have walked the gardens and recalled favorite plants with the help of digital picture collections. Realizing there are only a few more bouquets to arrange from the garden also makes me sad. Today I organized a few pictures collages... my Farewell to Summer Tour of the Gardens. The lilies were a huge success this year. I welcomed them during a hot, dry time in early August when other plants were drying up.

The raised beds produced lovely cut flowers, lots and lots of zucchini, hardy sunflowers, and tomatoes with a taste I wish I could hold on to through winter.I always love my geraniums. I felt like the variety of colors this year created bright spots around the gardens. Fortunately they have been moved to the greenhouse where they can winter over and be used for propagating more plants.The roses started out slow in the spring, but made up for it during the blooming season. How I will also miss walking through the garden in early morning smelling the roses.

Each season has its own beauty so I don't say good-bye to summer with too much sadness. When frost hits and the branches are bare a new stark beauty takes over in the garden. I will be ready again with my camera.