Saying Goodbye....

Once I flip my calendar to November, I find the rest of the year quickly runs its course. Maybe it's the crazy-busy activities of Thanksgiving and Christmas that help speed the months along but I also think it's because I'm sadly saying goodbye to the garden and eagerly anticipating its return come Spring. There are still beautiful foliage to enjoy, at least in my neck of the woods. But soon, these deciduous branches will lay bare, and oh how we will miss their multi-colored coats! Seemingly overnight, the glowing fans of this gingko tree will create a golden carpet at its trunk, which in itself, is a beautiful sight.

Though presently living up to their name, these burning bushes will soon be naked, huddling tight and shivering through winter without their dense, fiery coat of red. Haphazard blooms found here and there but the majority of plants/flowers have bid their farewell and settled in for the duration. The annual visitors, sadly, make no plans to return.

A final visit from this colorful moth brought me much joy.As do the fruits and berries decorating these trees. Captured here for posterity before they are picked clean by our feathered friends ;)

My collection of chrysanthemums vary somewhat, but mostly, I go for bold, rich colors.With the daisy-like mums being my favorite!Of course you need white ones to make a vase arrangement 'go together'. Hey, how'd that little geranium sneak in there! Imagine my surprise to find this beautiful rose in bloom! Five days later, they still look great on my bedside table. And somehow, attending the last daylily club (GSDG) meeting of the year, makes saying goodbye to the garden that much more final. But, as we gardeners know, now begins the fun phase of dreaming and planning our projects for 2010. My 'Wish List' of daylilies increased tenfold...thanks to our wonderful speaker on hybridizing...Mike Huben. I can't wait for that first pollen cross next summer! Have yourselves a great week and enjoy the last Hurrah of Autumn!