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 fall
Acer 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
Saturday, January 2, 2016 at 9:15PM 
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!
