Autumn Begins

Although we have awoken to a few frosts so far this fall, most days have been warm and sunny.  Above is the view from the bench in the northeast corner looking west.  It felt like a little bit of heaven sitting out there, so I made myself get up and go grab the camera to capture a memory. 

The roses in the front yard have sent out some crazy octopus arms.  'Eglantyne' is especially bad about this in fall.  I cut off the highest ones already, some of which reached seven feet tall.

Daylilies in the side yard have turned yellow, and the roses have quieted down after their September flush of bloom.

I have been busy transplanting things along the path in the backyard.  The plants recently uprooted, divided and replanted include Astrantia, Astilbe, Veronica and Geum.  My husband kindly transplanted large clumps of Siberian Iris (like the one above at bottom left) and removed hostas to make room for bronze fennel to attract more Swallowtail butterflies.  I also dug up Colchicum cilicicum bulbs from the front and replanted them along the path.  Now I'm warmed up to plant all the bulbs coming in the mail, right?

These next few shots were taken from an upstairs window.  Thousands of adorable, tiny red crabapples adorn the 'Royal Raindrops' trees.  Each one will try to grow into a new tree next spring, and my kids will earn a lot of pennies pulling them up.

This is the area shown in the first photo, though that one was taken in late afternoon and this one in the morning.

As the honeysuckle grows up the side of the swings, I just slide the black zip ties up to hold the stems at the top.  Yesterday I trimmed around the bottom to confirm that I had room for two more 'Pink Delight' peonies right in front at the base.  I also ordered 'Rivida', whose seed heads are supposed to ripen to red, which will be fun in arrangements.

This angle shows a lot of little plants that have yet to fill in their space, but it'll happen eventually.

I keep feeling drawn outside throughout the day to enjoy what's left of the garden before most things go to sleep.   This last shot shows plenty of green left on the east side of the house, but soon the moss in the path and a few evergreens will be all that's left for winter.