"Begin the hours of this day slow"

Gardening and blogging time have been in short supply over the last few weeks.  My fall garden "to-do" list is still very long!  There isn't enough daylight at the end of my work days and the weekends have been full.  As we approach the end of October, night falls earlier and earlier each day.  Soon I will drive off to work just as the sun is rising and drive home in the dark.   I'll miss the late fall afternoons with the sun shining through the trees and casting long shadows on the grass.

 My quick morning walk through the garden to take in the color of the fall bloomers is 

precious when the daylight hours are short.

And when I encounter a  visiting Monarch, as I did this morning, it becomes even more precious.

O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow. 

from "October" by Robert Frost


Carolyn at This Grandmother's Garden has invited gardeners to join her in walking in the Autumn air and sharing what they see.  I'm linking up with her today - please click over and enjoy the Autumn beauty.

Moving in a holy dance

The seed hides the seedling, in the seedling hides the tree

In the holy tree hides all the seeds of forests yet to be

Gift of food, gift of shelter, blessed presence on this earth

She will lay her broken body down to bring new seeds to earth.

One great circle of life, living circle of love

Plants and trees, seas and rivers

and the blessed sky above.

Creatures great, creatures small

form the web that weaves us all

In the circle of life.

We are moving in a holy dance of life and death and birth.

from "Circle of Life" by Marty Haugen

a beautiful hymn that you can hear here.

The circumference of the circle of life seems small at this stage of my life, and especially in this season - perhaps my favorite season.  A brilliantly colored leaf stood out on the grass today, reminding me that soon the trees will be brilliant in the late afternoon sun behind my fence.  Already the sassafras is turning.

But there is new life in the garden even as the trees remind us so beautifully that

their branches will soon be bare.

The tri-color sedum is at its finest, and prettier this year than in years past.

Mums are full and promising a riot of blooms.

Hardy ageratum has budded and will soon color the garden blue.

And the asters that bloomed in Spring are back with their cheery yellow centers.

And the creatures that remind me most of this circle of life - the butterflies - are most abundant now.  Twice this week a tiger swallowtail danced in the air around me, and I was happy to resist the 

temptation to rush for the camera. Yesterday, on a walk through the neighborhood, I saw a giant swallowtail and took these pictures with my phone camera.

It is, indeed, a holy dance.

Wordless Wednesday - Transition

cornus kousa, flowering dogwood

Camellia sasanqua, Northern Lights 

Nandina

tricolor sedum

hardy garden mum

Warmed by autumn's fire - Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Agastache

The November blooms are the colors of warm winter fires - 

shades of red, orange and gold 

glowing in the low autumn light.

Coreopsis

Lantana

Blanket flower

Hot lips salvia

  Black-eyed Susans continue to bloom on the deck, next to the violas and mums.  The geranium is blooming as it did in May, cozy in the pot with the euphorbia.  

With the trees overhead glowing with the same colors of red and gold, 

 the world outside my door is transformed.

The dogwoods are still holding on to their ruby leaves, though the chestnut oaks

 and sassafras are in a hurry to shed theirs.

Even the spirea has put on a multi-hued coat.

Each phase of the life cycle has its own beauty and its own personality.  Spring is birth, excitement, energy, and fresh color.  Summer is like the teenager - rambunctious and growing rapidly, bright and even gaudy.  But fall - it's the season I relate to.  Winding down, reflective, comforting and beautiful in an entirely different way. 

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Head on over to see what's blooming in gardens all over the world.

The star of the show

This dogwood is the star of the show in my garden right now, though the others come close.  The dogwoods turn first and the other trees seem to wait for them, giving them center stage.  The leaves of this one look like rubies hanging in the sky when the sun shines through them.

Some other show-offs in the garden now are the pyracantha, loaded with berries,

and the mums, of course,

But I also love the hydrangeas at this time of year

and the finch at the feeder at every season of the year!

"When God sorts out the weather and sends rain"

It is no use to grumble and complain; It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice; 

When God sorts out the weather and sends rain - Why, rain's my choice. 

James Whitcomb Riley

Rain is definitely my choice!  As I write this, the rain is falling and I'm rejoicing.  Yesterday I spent the afternoon planting some coreopsis and blanket flower in anticipation of today's rain.  It was at least 95 degrees and the gnats were relentless. The ground was dry at least a foot down.  But today I feel rewarded - and the forecast calls for more rain over the next two days. 

I always have plenty of pictures to download after a weekend working in the garden.  I'm often distracted from my work by something and have to run get the camera.  (Even though it's a small camera, it bothers me to carry it around with me in my pocket.)

The early morning sun seemed to be shining a spotlight on the verbena bonariensis.

The New England asters have burst into bloom and the mums are ready to.

I have perennial mistflower in abundance, but much of it looks ragged from powdery mildew and chewed leaves.  This one may be the only one that's blemish free - I reminds me of why I love it.

Next to the mistflower, the coleus has sprouted a bloom.  Normally I don't care for blooming coleus, but this one is pretty.  You can see that it's struggled with the dry conditions and poor soil where I have it planted.

This plant with the dainty pink bloom volunteered itself in my bed of impatiens.  Does anyone recognize it?  Is it a noxious weed in disguise?

The birdbath in  the birdbath garden is nearly hidden by the late-planted zinnias.  Tricolor Sedum and pentas are blooming, too, but the main attraction is the hot lips salvia.  The hummingbirds and bumble bees love it.  But even in the midst of the salvia, the hummingbird enjoys a drink from the feeder from time to time.

At the end of the birdbath garden, the fireworks clematis and snow fountains guara continue to bloom, though not as vigorously as they did earlier in the season.

With the rain the temperature has dropped.  I'm sitting by the open window listening to the rainfall, enjoying the cool air, and feeling thankful.