It's a pleasant afternoon. The sun is shining while the wind is rustling through the trees. There is definitely the feeling of fall in the air. These are the days that I want to hang onto before they turn into the winter cold. I took advantage of the welcoming afternoon and explored my yard. Here are a few of things I saw.
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| The volunteer zinnia bed still has a lot of color although some of the blooms are starting to fade. |
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| The zinnias come in various shades of pink in this bed - from this light pink... |
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...to this dark pink.
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Even the ones that are starting to fade are providing nectar for small skipper butterflies.
These are the only butterflies I see now. |
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This love-lies-bleeding plant seeded itself from last year. Last year they were
huge and unruly, so I tried to pull up all of the seedlings I saw this year.
This one snuck by and is behaving itself,
so maybe they'll get another chance next year. |
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| The marigolds are in full bloom now after not blooming all summer. This follows the timing for many plants which has been different this year. The very hot and dry middle of the summer stunted many of them that have only come alive in the past few weeks with some rain and cooler weather. This is odd for marigolds which usually do well in hot weather. |
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| However, the mums are blooming right on schedule. |
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This group of mums has almost doubled in area in the 3 1/2 years that we've lived here.
I would like to redo this bed, but the mums are so happy here, I don't want to disturb them. |
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The yellow mums are in the back and these pink ones are in the front.
I planted them a couple of years ago and they have come back strong each year. |
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The vinca are still blooming, but their foliage is starting to yellow.
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| The earliest trees are just starting change colors. Yes, fall is here. |
