My Garden Notebook - October 2012

September has been very pleasant with cooler temperatures and some rain to keep all the plants surviving.  

Stats

Gardening Zone: 7a
September High Temperature: 98 degrees F
September Low Temperature: 50 degrees F
Precipitation: 2.68 inches

My Garden Notebook - September 2012

Two Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies on Buddleia 'Black Knight'

I accomplished quite a lot and even had some time to take a break and enjoy the company of visiting friends during my one month blogcation. With a break now and then, I find I return more refreshed and more creative. I am anxious to resume blogging and sharing my garden.

My Garden Notebook - May 2012

It is May 1, and I am documenting my garden on the first of every month.


Each year is different than another just as each month is different than another. April seemed to fluctuate in temperature and weather conditions just as much as most of the months in 2012 thus far. We did have a few weeks without rain which slowed growth a bit, and I used up all of the water in the rain barrels. Finally, last week we got some much needed rain. And rain has been coming every few days since. All the plants and trees are bursting with growth as a result.

An Enchanted Garden

For many years, I have been captivated by enchanted gardens--gardens that are lush, alluring, romantic, and fascinating. These are gardens that, when entered, bring about a sense of awe and wonder. Colors, fragrance, and textures abound. Plants and trees have grown to a size that is manageable, and yet, breathtaking. At every turn, there is a beautiful surprise and more for the eyes to feast upon.

October's Garden Palette

In my October garden, the trees  and shrubs have begun their autumn dance of transition from jades and olives to golds and tangerines and garnets.

Sometimes there is only a branch that has begun the dance to burnt orange among the lime-colored surroundings.

Before this leaf reaches russet, it offers a deep violet.

The finale has come in toasted umber, and it is time to sleep.

A passing hummingbird came by for her last dance in my garden for the year. Her milky white breast fluffs as she grooms herself on a high branch.

With her painted iridescence, she visited flowers that were fading and beginning to close and turn ruddy.

The hydrangeas continue their metamorphosis into shades of fading blush...

to muddy silver...

to crispy ecru.

A few of the blooms of summer burst through for one last show of boldness in scarlet, amethyst, and fuchsia.

Other blooms have reached a state of slumber, turning honeyed gold with edges of cocoa sand.

Autumn chrysanthemums open with gem-colored claret and flaxen sunshine.

What are some of the colors in your October garden pallette?

I am linking up with Carolyn at This Grandmother's Garden for Autumn Walk Challenge and with Carol at May Dream Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.
©Michelle A. Potter

Repose - Saying Goodbye

Donna at Garden Walk Garden Talk has offered the word, repose, for Word for Wednesday. Repose is such an appropriate word for this time of year when the garden is slowly moving towards its rest period. We, as gardeners, are winding down our weeding, planting, and garden maintenance. Although I like the flurry of activity in the garden during the spring and summer, I welcome the shift to a slower rhythm once autumn arrives.

Although autumn is a time when things slow down, it is also a time for goodbyes. Nests have been abandoned and saved for next year's nestlings.

Hummingbirds make their annual migration south and say goodbye until next spring. With the cooler weather, they even seem to find time for repose.

These delicate, yet robust, creatures bring me such joy in the garden. I will miss their elegant beauty, that puff of their wings as they sprint by my ear, and that high-pitched and quick chirp they make as they dance around the blooms and the feeders.

Even the butterflies say goodbye as they search for sheltered spots for a chrysalis or they migrate south as the Monarch. Because I could not sufficiently support the Monarch when my butterfly milkweed plant was damaged in the hurricane, I was not sure I would even see any this year. How elated I was when one showed up to give me an autumn goodbye kiss.

A falling leaf landed on a branch of leaves to offer another form of repose.

Repose = restfulness, calm, leisure, peace, quiet, restoration...

Another goodbye to the Hope Grows Day meme. Hanni at Sweet Bean Gardening has turned Hope Grows Day into Hope Grew. She has decided to end this meme's run. Thank you, Hanni, for hosting Hope Grows Day. I will miss thinking about my garden hopes month after month. My hope for October is that the serenity and repose of autumn continues throughout the season.

©Michelle A. Potter