Late Fall 2015

Fog shrouds the morning, but muted jewel tones filter through the mists. Soon sunshine burns away the haze, and bright light sparks through the leaves. The Japanese maples are especially resplendent in their fall foliage, bedazzling like the most brilliant gemstones. I walk through the garden, paying tribute to the last glorious burst of autumn.

The foliage of Deodar Cedar 'Feelin' Blue' is a lovely contrast to the warmer colors of fall..

My "marriage tree," now 40 years old!

The wonderful fall foliage of Japanese maple 'Orido Nishiki' lights up the woodland garden.

Camellia sasanqua 'Kanjiro'

Snowflake hydrangea, late fallAcer japonica 'Waterfall'

A bee, buzzing about a snapdragon, takes advantage of the last warm days of fall.Showers of leaves come down with each wind gust. Soon autumn will bow before winter's breath, and even my Japanese maples will stand mute as the garden slumbers. But that's OK. It is time to turn my thoughts toward Christmas!

Addendum: There has been some misunderstanding about the age of my garden, because my marriage tree is forty years old. Actually, the tree was very small when we married, and we kept it in a pot for years, until we moved here in 1985. We planted it in the yard then. So we have been here in Helena for 30 years, not forty. However, a tornado destroyed everything in the front yard in 1990, except my marriage tree, which was not harmed at all. After the tornado, I began planting what has become my garden - so the garden itself is twenty-five years old. But what a joy to watch a garden grow for a quarter century! Sorry for the confusion.   Deb

Fall Colors Peak in the Garden

I am listening to the steady drum of rain. It has been constant for hours. I am not complaining, because we need the rain; but the garden today was a sodden mess, cold and inhospitable. Autumn the cat was meowing to go outside and ran past my son when he came in for a visit. She halted at the edge of the carport, tested an icy puddle with her paw and then promptly turned around and came back inside.

The rain should stop by tomorrow, but temperatures will fall to frigid levels tomorrow night. This will be the third hard freeze within a few days. Sometimes autumn will linger into December here, but winter's grip is early this year. A few days ago I caught the garden's fall colors on camera at their peak, but the brilliant leaves you see in the following images will soon be fallen shells.

So here is my farewell to fall. It was glorious!

A view of the Jasmine arch with a Japanese maple in the background:

A blazing dogwood tree with the golden leaves of Chinese Pistache on the lower right:

A view from the patio:

A view of the garden in front of the parking court:

A young hickory tree with brilliant leaves:

Views of a Japanese maple with golden fall foliage - this was one of the unnamed seedlings I planted in 1990:

More colorful Japanese maple leaves:Clockwise from top left: 'Vitifolium'; 'Orangeola'; 'Aconitifolium'; "Seiryu.'

The bronze foliage of a White Oak:

We are blessed with many different oak trees. This is the bark and fall foliage of a Burr Oak (Quercus macrocarpa):

Here are a couple of views from the front lawn:

This is the birdhouse between the drive and the side of the house:

More fall colors; note the arbor that we recently painted. It took a lot of courage for me to do this!

'Waterfall' Japanese maple in the woodland garden:

It was a great autumnal celebration, but the party is coming to an end as grim winter arrives to put all to bed. Sleep well, and we will have another party come spring!