2015 Fall Flame-out

Winter is here.The new year has begun with typical dreary skies and monochromes around the garden, but less than a month ago the 2015 fall flame-out occurred, with spectacular Japanese maple colors, like the grand finale of a fireworks display. Here are photos taken the first two weeks of December, before wind and rains and cold temperatures stripped the limbs bare. It is something to remember!

While the leaves were expiring in glory, I found this ghost of a fuchsia:

And these hardy begonia seed-heads:

Compare this very recent view toward the woodland garden (with Feelin' Blue Deodar Cedar in the foreground) to similar views above, taken earlier in December:

Welcome winter, and Happy New Year!

Still Enchanted

This week marked my six year anniversary writing this blog. This is amazing to me, considering I had never read a blog before I started this one and had no idea what I was doing! I hoped, in the beginning, to make it to one year. The first year led to another, and here I am, sharing yet another Alabama autumn with the world, still enchanted by a jewel-tinted landscape and the dance of swirling leaves, falling in love all over again with this magical season.These photos were taken on the same day of the same Japanese maple.

Last night we had a much-needed soaking rain, and this morning was crisp as a tart apple, bursting with juice and tangy flavors. I was out early, planting pansies and violas, a traditional rite of fall in my parts. These, along with snapdragons, salvias, and assorted left-over summer bloomers such as marigolds, pentas and gomphrena, give that magical second-spring look to parts of the garden.

Pink gomphrena

Sweet viola

Marigold and sweet potato vine are summer plants that look great for fall, too.

The peak of our fall season is still weeks away, but autumn colors are beginning to show in dogwoods, redbuds, crape myrtles and Japanese maples.

To celebrate my six years in the blogosphere, I am giving links to six old posts, all written at least three years ago. Are there some out there who have been with me from the beginning, and do you remember any of these posts? Both long-time and newer readers may enjoy these golden-oldies!

1. My most popular post of all time, hands down. I still get many hits every day on this post, thanks to its high Google ranking and no doubt to its catchy title: How Not to Kill a Dwarf Alberta Spruce, written in 2011.

2. A post I think everyone should read: Chemical Warfare and Other Ways Plants Defend Themselves, written in 2010.

3. A real look at my life as a gardener: Why It Takes So Long To Get Things Done In My Garden, written in 2010.

4. Another view of the gardening life: The Garden Experience, written in 2012.

5. A visually lovely post about a special area in my town: A Magic Morning in Helena, written in 2009.

6. How I created the woodland garden: Seven Steps to Making a Woodland Garden, written in 2010.

There are many other posts I could mention. It was hard to choose just six! It has been fun, and I am deeply grateful to my readers!  Thank you, and best wishes to you all, Deb