Colours of Autumn

Out on the Hill the flowers are really winding down. I need to harvest some of the sage.

The reblooming Iris just keeps on blooming. I'm really surprised at this one but for sure I'm getting more.

We had temps in the mid-thirties one night. The banana plants just could not deal with that. Guess this is a week-end chore that I will have to get done - Dig them up and store them in the cellar until next spring. My neighbor at the florist has some that he just leaves in the ground to overwinter. A little mulch and they come back in force the next spring. I inherited this one when my Dad died a couple of years ago. This thing has probably been in my family for close to fifty yeas. I just feel I'm obligated to keep it going, IF I can.

Trees are really beautiful this year. It's suppose to rain tonight so that will probably bring a lot of them down.

I made the above picture in the morning and

About twenty-fours later I made the following one.

Yep! the leaves changed overnight.

Take a look at that beautiful blue sky!

Winerberry? Wildflower?

My japonicas and one of my pencil hollies seem to be trying to give up the ghost. I'm thinking that they needed more water than they have been getting. We have had very little rain since August 4th. Since I am on a hill and the water drains quickly I am going to put in soaker hoses, hopefully this fall. I've been considering adding a timer but have not yet decided for sure about this. I have not grown japonicas before and if they are this temperamental I'm not sure I will grow them again.

Here on the hill not alot of things are in bloom. The sages and catmint are very robust in aroma and size. Coreopsis have continued to bloom and are still flowering beautifully. I gathered my hydrangea blooms yesterday and made bouquets for the sunporch and on each side of the colonnade. They are one of my best flowers and I like the fact that I can collect them to make arrangements that will last all season. In the spring I will add 4 or 5 more plants along the French Drain.

Coreopsis

A the edge of the woods near the end of my drive, in one of the few areas that we have managed to somewhat reclaim from mother nature's take over with unwanted growth, I noticed a shrub that is simply loaded with red berries. I was on my way to work so it was not a good day to go climbing thru weeds and brush but that is just what I did. I'm not sure if this is a winterberry but it may be. Whatever it is the berries are stunning. At the base of the same small bank I discovered beautiful yellow flowers that are some type of wildflower. I am posting pictures of both the flower and the shrub. If anyone can identify either please do so.

Sage & Catmint and some others

Winterberry? Maybe? No? Yes?

Unknown flower