The Last Days of Fall

We've been enjoying the last days of Fall. It's been unseasonably warm for this time of the year!


There's been time for one last Fall walk in the woods...soon the carpet of leaves will be covered in white and Hooper Run will be iced over.

The Burning Bush is ablaze with color ~

The squirrels have been busy gathering walnuts for winter. This little guy was posing so nice for me!








One of the shrubs that I can count on to add a lot of color to the gardens this time of the year is the Barberry.

The deer have been out in the field enjoying the nice weather too. This doe was busy munching some grass in the field. It almost looks like she has a toothpick in her mouth.

Winter will soon be arriving with it's own special beauty...

Minnow Bucket of Mums ~

I've been absent on here for quite awhile...I've had problems with not being able to post photos on Blogger for the past couple months. I'd reported it but I've just been so busy with real life lately that I didn't have much time to deal with it. 


I'm happy that it finally seems to be working now! I'm behind on posting photos of what's been happening in my gardens the last couple months ~ like these sunny Mums that added a lot of fall color to my porch.

 When I saw these I knew they were the perfect color for the minnow bucket that I'd envisioned planted with Mums.

I love the graphics on the old minnow bucket...complete with a cute little fish!

Goldenrod

The fields are ablaze with yellow when the goldenrod is in bloom. I recently spent a morning walking through the fields cutting several bundles of them. Their tall sturdy stems fit very nicely in this vase.  I loved the patina on this metal vase which I found at a yard sale. I paid one dollar for the vase and the flowers were free so it was a very economical arrangement!

I also placed some in one of my old watering cans for a more casual look. I love using whatever nature provides to decorate with....it always feels so much more authentic and real to me!

Fawns In The Field

Every evening right before dusk the deer come up out of the woods into the field beside our house. We enjoy sitting on the porch watching them. Free entertainment from nature!

This summer there's one single and two sets of fawns that we've been watching in the field. They're so playful and adorable!

I'm getting a little better at sneaking up on them to take pictures. I was hiding behind a tree at the edge of the field taking photos when this fawn heard me. He turned his head and looked right at me.  

They feed for awhile and the fawns playfully run around the field. It's been so much fun watching the fawns as they grow. Finally they wander back down into the woods.

Volunteers are Welcome

Volunteer plants are always welcome in my gardens! I enjoy the surprise of seeing where they'll pop up. I actually think their random placement gives a more natural look to the flower beds.


My gardens aren't perfect & orderly by any means. Usually at some point in summer, life gets very busy & they sort of get ahead of me. I keep telling myself as I get older that I need to downsize my gardens ...but then I find some wonderful new flower that I just have to add to the beds!

This surprise sunflower came from the birdseed that I'd put out for the birds over winter...and now the butterflies are enjoying it!

Morning Glories seem to have a mind of their own...popping up where ever they fancy to! They appeared right outside the little porch on my potting shed & vined up around the column. I loved being greeted by them every time I entered the potting shed.

Coffee, Tea or Peony!

 

 

 

 

I love the beautiful lush flowers of the Peony. Their bloom time is so brief but I can't imagine my gardens without them. Peonies have a wonderful sweet scent that drifts throughout the garden. After several days of bad storms, it was so disheartening to look out and see all of the Peonies laying on the ground! I was happy that I was able to salvage enough to make two bouquets though. The blooms aren't as perfect as they were prior to the storms but still very pretty! These beauties look great in any type of vase....whether it's a simple, casual container like my old enamelware coffee pot or a more elegant container like my old silver teapot.

 

 

 

 

 
I collect old enamelware and have it displayed in my home and potting shed. This old enamelware coffee pot is one of my favorite pieces!

Someone once asked me why I had a silver tea set in my potting shed.....this is why! I love how roses, peonies and succulents look in silver pieces. The tea set was in a box of goodies I bought at an auction. As soon as I saw it I knew what I would use it for!

 

A few sprigs of Lady's Mantle fill the old enamelware coffee cups....

An old blue bottle holds a Peony blossom and two buds...

Mother Nature's Artistry

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Nobody paints a picture prettier than Mother Nature! We got to enjoy this beautiful sky from our porch last night ~

Tree Knot in the Garden

This is a tree knot that was sliced off of a downed tree. The hole was the entrance to a squirrels nest before the tree fell down. I thought it was interesting looking and kept it, thinking I'd use it in a project sometime. I was looking around the potting shed for some interesting containers to plant Violas in when I noticed the tree knot on a shelf. The thought crossed my  mind that a Viola would look really cute growing up through the opening.




 

                         Top of knot

                   Underside of knot

 

 

I chose one of the smaller Violas to plant in the garden.Then I carefully placed the tree knot down over the Viola, taking care not to damage the plant. It's grown and seems happy in the center of the knot! It sort of has a natural woodland look about it, which I like.

 

 

 

Sweet Violas

I always look forward to the sweet little Violas making their appearance in the spring. These cool loving flowers make colorful additions to both gardens and containers.

When planting my flowers I use a variety of containers. I have a lot of concrete & cast iron urns that I use. I have a weakness for urns ~ can't seem to pass them up at auctions! I use a lot of terra cotta pots because I love the natural earthy look of them. I also like to include a few vintage pieces every year that I've repurposed as planters. Here are a few that I've used this Spring as planters for my Violas...

 

 

 

A blue and white enamelware pan planted with Violas sits in the potting shed window.  This old pan is a favorite of mine and I use it in a lot of displays in my potting shed

 

 

 

 

Violas in my old wooden berry bucket

 

  

 

 

I love the old hardware on the berry bucket! 

 

 

 

 

I found this old oil can a couple years ago at a flea....loved the color of it! 

 

 

 

 

 

An old cheese box holds 3 small pots of Violas 

 

 

 

 

 I placed several coffee filters in the bottom of this old oil strainer to keep soil from coming out and planted Violas in it. 

 

 

A Viola tucked into an old enamelware cup.

 

 

 

 

An old metal dust pan propped against a tree holds a few Violas. 

 

 

 

 

Later....when the Violas finally start getting a little leggy I remove them from the containers, cut them back and then add them to other mixed plantings. This extends their life and I get to enjoy a second bloom out of them!

 

 

 

 

Lovely Lilacs

I love when the Lilacs are blooming. Their wonderful fragrance drifts throughout the garden. I have such fond memories of them as a child. I transplanted several of them from my childhood home to my gardens here many years ago.The last couple years they haven't done as well due to late frosts. I've missed having large bouquets of them to place in my home!

 I've fallen in love with this Miss Kim Korean Lilac that I bought three years ago. My husband found another one at the end of the season that was marked down. So now I have two to enjoy! It blooms a little later so it's less susceptible to bud damage from frost.

Lilacs are so pretty, even before the blooms open!

The pretty flowers seem to mostly open in order from the bottom to the top of each cluster.

 

 

 

 

Pretty flowers and wonderful fragrance ~ who wouldn't love to have Lilacs in their garden?

 

 

What's Happening In The Garden

I'm so far behind in my gardens this Spring. So much needs done, especially weeding! I'm hoping to soon have a stretch of time to devote to getting my gardens back in order. My husband has had some health problems the last few weeks so I haven't had much time to work in the gardens lately. Thankfully the flowers look pretty even though they're surrounded by weeds that seem to grow like crazy. Let's see what's happening in the garden this week.....

The sweet Forget-Me-Nots are blooming! I love their dainty blue flowers!

They've filled in this area nicely to form a carpet under the shrubs at the top of this bed. I love the texture of the Silver Mound that's creeping out over the stone wall.

 Silver Mound is so soft & delicate looking!

The Crab apple tree is covered with pretty pink blooms.

Mountain Bluets are such an interesting looking flower.

The deer really enjoyed snacking on the Azalea bushes last winter so they're not shaped too nice this year...but at least they still have pretty flowers!

Wild Violets are so pretty and are always welcomed in my garden when they pop up!

This is my favorite of the Columbines that I have in my garden. I love it's color and frilliness!

Nature's soap ~ Soapwort is spreading quickly to cover the bank.

Bleeding Heart looks so pretty with it's arching stems & heart shaped flowers.
 

Only a couple of Primroses are blooming... most are done for the year.

The Lungwort has some sweet little blooms on it.

There are even a few Grape Hyacinths still blooming.