Well looks like Winter is around the corner with the clocks changing last night, Four o’clock and it is getting dark here already. My opinion is we should stay on the one time & not change the clocks twice a year, after all early nights are such a shock when it is not only cold but dark when you still have jobs to do.
Just lately we have had some very strong winds & this has made a lot of pour taller trees look quite bare with leaves coming down like confetti at a wedding, especially the Silver Birch . This of course only means two tasks for the wife & I. 1/ Clearing the leaves off the lawns (which is the misses job & I get:- 2/ Emptying the guttering & downpipes on a regular basis, so its a good job we live in a bungalow, not to much ladder climbing for this oldie. So with the wind & natural loss of foliage on shrubs & trees the garden is also shutting down. During a brief spell from the rain this morning I went out & captured the last of the colour remaining in the garden, doing a tour I must confess I did not realise just how much colour there was & that pleased me no end.
Below are the best that I took from my morning expedition.
The Azaleas winter leaves always add some good colour as you drive in through the gate.
Looking down the garden towards the house.
The view from the kitchen window , the Heather bed has summer & winter flowering Heathers so it remains cheery all year round, we have intentions to add to this area every year so that as we get older there should be less maintenance, just a case of dead heading the flowers.
When they grow as beautiful a colour as this bunch do, then it really does bring a smile to your face, no matter how dull the day.
These two arrangements are in pots either side of our front door & they have been colourful all summer, but now show off their natural beauty even better.
The berries on this Cotoneaster are slowly disappearing as they are eaten by the birds, mainly Blackbirds, though we have had one visit by a flock of Fieldfares which rushed in & left just as quickly as they arrived, but consumed all the remaining Rowan berries before they left.
Finally I just loved the variation in colours on this one branch, I do love Autumn.