Last Fall Images, 2018

Winter has come with cold rain and bitter breezes that have stripped lingering autumn leaves from trees. I don't mind our brief winter too much, despite the leaden, mushy landscape. It is a good backdrop for the festive decorations and Christmas lights of December. But I enjoy looking back at the last images of fall, taken less than two weeks ago:

'Orido Nishiki' is usually my last Japanese maple to take on fall colors and the last one to lose them. While many trees were already barren, glorious leaves still clung to this tree in the woodland garden:

Finally, here are a couple of pictures that don't belong to me. Another Deb (who also lives in Helena!) sent me the following photos. First, a decorative rabbit in a sea of leaves:

And her adorable dog named Honeybunny:

Thank you, Deb, for letting me use your beautiful photos.

Despite the arrival of winter, I can't just sit back with my hot chocolate and look at pretty garden pictures. All those leaves covering my moss paths and draped over shrubs have to be raked! (Remember, moss needs air to grow.) And many weeds flourish during milder winter days. So I have to pull them as they appear throughout the winter if I don't want to be swamped with spring weeds. You would be amazed at how many baby weeds are birthed during cold weather!  

Going, Gone: November Review

The end of November brings a sadness for fading glory and a resolve to love winter in spite of it. Fall colors peaked during November, then within days it is gone.

In the following grouping, the photos on the left were taken on November 18, the ones on the right were taken today, November 30:

Watch the Japanese maple, Orido Nishiki, on the right in the following photos as the month progresses. 

Nov. 5:
 Nov. 12:

 Nov. 17:

 Nov. 20:

And today, Nov. 30, most of the beautiful leaves are on the ground, covering the moss path. I will need to rake these leaves since moss won't thrive if it is covered. It gets most of its nutrients from the air, rather than the soil.

Not all leaves have fallen, and some of the ones that have are still quite interesting:Clockwise, from top left: Korean Spice Viburnum; Anthony Waterer Spirea; a shriveled hosta leaf; Variegated Hydrangea.

Recent frost shriviled and browned flowers that had persisted well into the month, but they were pretty while they lasted. Yes, I know the ornamental cabbage on the second row is not a flower, but it is pretty enough to be one. It also is the only one to be unfazed by the frost:

Some woodland trees, photos taken less than two weeks ago. Only the evergreen Feelin' Blue, a weeping deodar cedar, looks the same now:Left: dogwood, Cornus Florida; Top right: 'Waterfall' Japanese maple; Bottom right: Japanese maple 'Orido Nishiki' and 'Feelin' Blue' deodar cedar. The trunk in the middle belongs to a dogwood. 

Finally, here is my Tin Man, given to me years ago by a dear friend, and a few other garden ornaments. The large urn is a water reservoir in the woodland garden, which fortunately I have not needed to use at all this month:

Now it's time to look toward winter, to Christmas and family gatherings, to snuggling under the blankets, to fires upon the hearth, to homemade soup and warm comforting drinks, to good books and garden catalogues, and maybe, just maybe, to a little bit of snow!