Mid September with Hints of Autumn

In one week the season has stepped from summer onto the edge of fall, and there is no going back. Autumn's touch is evident. There are golden and orange tints in the trees, especially in dogwood leaves, which are always among the first to turn, and the breeze brings a few leaves fluttering to the ground.Cornus florida, our native flowering dogwood, is beginning to turn colors in mid-september.

I walk in the garden and feel sunshine on my face, but it is a gentle breath and no longer the hot, sticky lick of summer. I call autumn our second spring. Many summer flowers, like these in the front planter, are rejuvenated in the cooler, yet still warm air.

I walk slowly and enjoy my tour around the mid-September garden, with its pleasant atmosphere and hints of autumn:

Oakleaf Hydrangea leaf

Southern magnolia seed pods

Evergreen Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn fern, does not turn colors in fall. Rather, new growth in spring has autumn tints.

Clockwise from top left: Licoris radiate, the spider lily; Ilex verticillata, the winterberry; Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'; Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'.

This old rusty woodpecker is in the woodland garden.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Have a great week!   Deb

Images of Autumn, 2014

Streams of light wash the trees with molten rays, dripping glitter upon the forest floor. It is late October, and autumn is beginning to show her colors. Not fieriness yet, for we are weeks away from peak colors, but the woods have a warm glow that complements the season's cooler air. The days are a refreshment to my soul, and I want to soak them in, remembering each detail in the garden. I am out with my camera often.

This redbud tree is laden with dried seedpods.

Some fall vignettes looked staged, but I photographed them just as I found them:
I found this spent Magnolia grandiflora seedpod in an empty pot, one perfect red seed resting in the heart of it.

A fallen feather lies next to a few dogwood berries.

This upside-down mushroom has moss clinging to its stem. I wonder what uprooted it and how it came to rest so perfectly on the ground.

I can not overlook flowers that will bloom right up to the precipice of winter:Clockwise from top left: A new flower head opening on Endless Summer Hydrangea; Close-up of Endless Summer; Rainbow Knockout Rose; Purple Aster; Penelope Rose; Penelope rosebud with some of the bush's fall colors visible in the background; Rosa Mutabilis; Flower Carpet Coral Rose.

A couple of black and white images are a salute to next season:
This dried Oakleaf Hydrangea seed head caught my attention. It reminds me of a cluster of butterflies.

An old stump has artistic swirls and crevices.

Will we have another hard winter? I hope not. For now, I cling to day after day of glorious autumn.