Autumn Color in the Garden
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Japanese Maple
Of Rust & Rain: November’s Garden
The Leaves of Enkianthus campanulatas ‘Red Bells’ Flicker Against Grey-Green Microbiota decussata. This Beauty is Equally Stunning in Springtime. Click Here to Read More. Early November’s combination of thick frost, cold rain, wet snow and high wind has taken a toll on late season color in the garden. Trees along the ledgy ridge line —particularly […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden
Bittersweet Endings: Nod To November
Bittersweet Reflections (Acer palmatum x dissectum) November arrived quietly this year; creeping in with melancholy whispers of fog and chilly rain. Bittersweet leaves glow along back roads and pile up in water-logged ditches. Suddenly, the skeletal lines of late autumn have reappeared. Winter is coming. We can feel it now, in our bones. Dia de […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Foliage, Trees, Trees for Fall Foliage, Winter
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Autumn Snowliage in Vermont
The Blue Green Dragon has Her Autumn Fire Cooled by Old Man Winter Mother Nature had early tricks in mind for Vermont this Halloween, though fortunately, she and her pal, Old Man Winter, kept things light. Autumn snowstorms can be devastating to deciduous trees and shrubs here in New England; especially when the more fragile […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Color in the Garden, DIY Garden Design, Flowering Trees, Foliage, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, New England, North American Trees
American Yellowwood: The Garden’s Crowning, Golden, October Glory
Cladrastis kentukea: Our Glorious, American Yellowwood Tree I’ve always been baffled by the rarity of American Yellowwood trees in New England gardens. With a glorious canopy of fragrant, cascading white blossoms in May/June, a rounded, full crown of disease-free leaves throughout the summer season and clear, golden fall foliage in late autumn, this tree is […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Flower Seeds, Garden Design Photos, Garden Maintenance
Beyond the Sweater Drawer: Gardening In Layers for Autumn Color & Texture
Stunning Abelia mosanensis, Backed Up by Lovely Lindera benzoin and Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’, Together in a Stellar Second Act.  Getting dressed for October weather in New England usually involves a tank top, t-shirt, bright sweater and weatherproof jacket. As the season grows colder, this list grows to include colorful wool socks, hat, scarf, gloves and […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design
Into the October Fire
Cranberrybush Viburnum (V. trilobum), turns up the heat with Lindera benzoin Blazing Gold Beyond It’s yet another wet and dreary day here in Vermont, but even the non-stop rain can’t seem to extinguish this October’s fire. Here’s a peek at the week’s highlights in a few snaps made between showers . . . Red, Orange […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Autumnal Equinox, Bark, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Birds in the Garden, Butterflies and Moths, Color in the Garden, Flowering Trees, Foliage, Fragrance, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Late Autumn Garden, Texture, Trees with Textural Bark, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Garden Design, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Sweet-Scented Seven-Son Flower: Heptacodium miconioides Blossoms Welcome Autumn . . .
Heptacodium miconioides in and amongst September garden favorites: Rudbeckia, Solidago, Miscanthus and Physocarpus opulifolius It’s no secret that we northeastern gardeners struggle with a limited growing season. Bare trees for nearly six months is a bit much to take. We want to hold onto the glory of autumn. Where winters are long and summers are […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Dark flowers, Gardening Inspiration, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens
Welcoming Late Summer’s Slow, Shadowy, Seductive Beauty . . .
Ligularia dentata ‘Britt-Marie Crawford’ in the Secret Garden September is truly my favorite Summer month. In fact, now through early December is my preferred season to be outside and in the garden. Everyone loves springtime, of course, but when you’re employed in the field of horticulture and landscape design, it’s hard to find the time […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design
Sunday Musings on Art & Garden Design
Golden Silverbell Leaves (Halesia tetraptera) on the Sunlit Terrace It’s Sunday, and after a several weeks of intense fall planting —and many more to go— I decided to give my hard-working muscles a day off. I spent a quiet morning and luxurious, early afternoon sipping coffee, enjoying a home-cooked breakfast and musing on the relationship […]
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Asian Natives, Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Color in the Garden, flowering shrubs, Garden Design, Shrubs for fall color, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Enkianthus campanulatas ‘Red Bells’ Rings with Rosy, Late Spring Blossoms & Glorious Beauty Beyond Bloom . . .
 Enkianthus campanulatas ‘Red Bells’ with Baptisia australis, blooming in the background June is a fantastic month for flowers. Everywhere you look —from sunny meadows to shady nooks— something seems to be blooming. At this time of year, many gardeners spend their weekend hours strolling through nursery rows, choosing blooming plants based upon their flower color. […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Color in the Garden, Conifers, Flower Seeds, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Hardy Succulents, Hoar Frost, Holiday Decorating, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennial Garden Design, Perennial Garden Maintenance, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Autumn, Perennials for Winter Interest, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Succulents, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Woody Plants
Crystal-Coated & Sugar Plum Kissed . . . . Late Night Garden Party with Jack Frost
The Entry Walk and Ledges, Sparkling in Sunlight After Jack Frost’s Midnight Ball I love surprises. A life lived predictably seems terribly boring to me and a garden kept under tight control leaves little room for romance. For months now, I’ve been encouraging readers to leave seed pods and other garden remnants standing over winter […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos
Late November’s Smoldering Hues: Radiant Rust, Shimmering Copper, Burnished Bronze & Winter Blonde
Tea Viburnum (V. setigerum) Berries, Dangling Against a Backdrop of Honey-Hued Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis) It’s late November, and the garden is growing quieter now. Gone are the high chrome colors of October, but the show is far from over. Late night visits from Jack Frost and the Sugar Plum Fairy are just beginning; coating […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Witch Alder
Farewell to Late October’s Splendor . . . A Quiet Calm Before the Storm
Leaves Catch Fire on the Blue Green Dragon and Fall to the Secret Garden, Below… Here, in the Cool, Quiet Between Walls of Stone, The Dragon’s Flames Dance Upon Inky, Dark Water Late-Blooming Ladybells (Adenophora confusa) Defy October’s Frosty Nights and Whisper Softly in the Mist Some years, Autumn’s radiant colors linger till late November […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden
Sunlit Saffron, Rose & Brilliant Bronze: Fleeting Moments of Garden Beauty…
A Moment’s Reflection and I’m Off to Work, Through the Secret Garden Door My garden misses me, and I miss my garden. Autumn days are growing shorter, and with so many projects to finish before the ground freezes, I only have time to catch a glimpse of her sunlit beauty on the way to and […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Chores, Autumn Garden Design, Garden Maintenance
The Perennial Maintenance Question: When Should I Cut Back the Garden?
Rainy-Day, Autumn Maintenance in My Wildflower Walk: Cutting Back Withered Perennials & Removing Weeds Ah, October. One minute it’s freezing cold and you’re pulling on the wooly socks, and the next you’re stripping to your t-shirt and slathering on the sunscreen. I wonder… Do gardeners in other regions talk about the weather as much as […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos
In Late September’s Low Sunlight, Autumn Dons Her Golden Crown . . .
The Garden’s Golden Hour: Miscanthus sinensis purpurascens & Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ Sunset to twilight: a favorite window of time for a slow garden stroll. Quick, grab a sweater to throw off the chill, and a camera to capture the beauty. Early autumn and the golden hour —a garden drenched in honey-hued light— sweet moments […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Autumnal Equinox
“Autumn Is A Second Spring, When Every Leaf Is A Flower” – Camus
Dwarf Witch Alder (Fothergilla gardenii) & Hosta ‘August Moon’ Wisps of cool, grey fog, softly greet color-tinged leaves on the first morning of a new season . . . Welcome Autumn! Cranberrybush Viburnum (V. trilobum ‘Bailey Compact’) Doublefile Viburnum (V. plicatum var. tomentosum ‘Shasta’), Cranberrybush Viburnum (V. trilobum ‘JN Select Red Wing’), Flame Grass (Miscanthus […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Birds in the Garden
Swing Season: Falling for September’s Slow, Sultry Color Shift . . .
Bits of Early Color: Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum ‘Shasta’ and Miscanthus sinensis purpurascens Glow Like Stained Glass in the Last Rays of Low Sunlight The last days of summer: golden light, cricket chorus, scampering squirrels and vibrant colors. It seems Mother Nature —ready to rest from a long growing season— has decided to stretch out […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Ferncliff, Frost, Fun in the Garden, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Glamorous Gardens, Halloween, Home, Late Autumn Garden, Nature, New England, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shrubs for Winter Interest, The Seasons, Vermont, White Witch, Winter, Winter Garden
The White Witch’s Early Winter Trick: A Morning of Sparkling Autumn Treats
The Trick of Winter: Cornus kousa Fruits & Fall Foliage in Early Snow It seems the White Witch of Winter decided to pay us an early Halloween visit last night. Far more accustomed to her raven-haired sister at this time of year, we were all taken a bit by surprise. And though it’s much too […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Ferncliff, Glamorous Gardens, New England, Pumpkins, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Specialty Pumpkins, The Seasons, Trees for Fall Foliage, Winter, Winter Garden, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Autumn Swirls in a Dance with Winter: A Fleeting Glimpse of Frosted Fantasy …
An October Snow Squall Temporarily Coats the Scarlet Leaves of This Brilliant Viburnum with Fresh Frosting (V. plicatum var. tomentosum ‘Shasta’) A Different Kind of October in the Secret Garden A First For Me; Damask Roses in the Snow (‘Rosa De Rescht’) Candy-Coated Autumn Colors … And Jewel-Like Leaves, Flash Frozen in Time Snow Kissed […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Plants for Light Effects, Trees, Trees for Fall Foliage, Wildlife, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Autumn’s Kaleidoscopic Color Wheel: Glorious Patterns & Back-Lit Beauty …
 Purple Beautyberry, Smokebush and Maiden Grass Make a Brilliant Grouping (Callicarpa dichotoma, Cotinus coggygria and Miscanthus) Though it Often Spreads Aggressively, North American Native, Hay Scented Fern (Densntaedtia punctilobula) is a Gorgeous and Durable Ground Cover for Tough, Shady Spaces. Taking My Cue from Mother Nature, I Like to Position this Autumnal Favorite Where it will […]
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