Last Surprise

 I planted my tiny witch hazel (Hamamelis virginian) this past Spring and I really didn't think I would see flowers for at least couple of years. Perhaps it has been this mini Indian Summer phase of weather we have been treated to ?  Last year was such a hard, fast, shock of freezing cold. I couldn't get all my Spring bulbs in fast enough. The ground had frozen before I could get all the daffodils in out front. I have been trying to complete a row of daffs all around the bottom of the front raised bed for years ! 

I am so surprised to see how this little beauty has bloomed ! I thought it was such a funny plant because it's leaves were so huge compared to the rest of it's "body" almost a "Dumbo" plant with huge ears.

I am training it to be a small tree .. I now have read that it won't grow to it's mature height until at least 15 or 20 years .. I hope who ever has this house by then, will take care of it  .. my life span will not be that far into the future. But that is what gardeners do, leave a tiny mark behind with plants and trees that benefit the earth in some way.

I am totally enamored with this tiny jewel now .. how cute can it get ? There are like giant yellow spiders parked on the branches , waving their arms ?

This dwarf barberry is just to the left of the witch hazel and provides a great contrast.

I would say it is Crimson Pygmy" but this seems even smaller.

It has a natural colour of dark purple ..but  now ? it glows in ember tones.

A dwarf grass, Little Zebra  back lit by the morning sun, is gorgeous to me in it's "blonde" state.

A dreamy type of light for my morning walk about. Autumn sunlight is special, hard to describe but definitely not the perky light of Spring, nor the intense light of summer .. this is a glow type

Some "greens" just won't give up ! Dream Catcher Beautybush along with the my mystery fern(to the right). If anyone recognizes what kind of fern it is would you please let me know ? the fronds are of a wider margin. This is an update of my mystery fern. Sandy has the ID and it as a Japanses Holly fern, or Cyrtomium falcatum 'Rochfordianum' .. I have had it a few years and it has been a great performer !

The fern below is an Autumn Fern or  Dryopteris erythrosora Brilliance which is so exceedingly SLOW coming alive in Spring, I have to remind myself not to dig it up .. it usually has a lot of colour in Fall, but not this year. Some plants look absolutely gorgeous when you buy them and then lag behind for a few years .. maybe they have to feel "at home" ? LOL

Our dwarf Burning Bush are finally showing the colour I have been looking for.

Ignore the "brown" used lily stalk in front of it .. I should have removed it before the shot !

Even from a distance you can't miss this Golden Barberry.

I still get freaked out with the messy condition of the garden, but I get it about having a safe sanctuary for insects and small wild life over winter .. I just have to keep a handle on my obsessive clean up mode. 

How gorgeous is this to see in the last throws of Autumn ?

This Golden Barberry is my favorite pick. It displays the spectrum of golds to reds of what Autumn really is all about.

That blend of colour is perfection, this is true Autumn colour and atmosphere .. I am just sad it lasts for such a short period of time .. it always leaves you always wanting more !

The last of the garden .....

 It just seems fitting to start with a few leaves that I pressed ? .. I was lucky to remember to do that !

A scattering  of colour

Brown is the new pink for Fall ?

That incredible crimson to the left is Red Dragon Japanese maple

The BRIGHT orange Japanese maple is "Waterfall" 

Some JM need sunshine to bring out vivid colour .. but this one does not, and it shines doesn't it ?

The Solomon's Seal has that ghostly yellow that draws your attention too.

The Japanese forest grass compliments all the plants, the different tones and textures are so appealing. 

I am so glad I had a chance to plant more this season, especially with what happened and is happening.

Some hosta changes colour and then collapses .. and some don't ?

The small bright red bushes are blueberry shrubs.

Dwarf Fothergilla is one of my favorite shrubs .. an all season kind, beautiful in Autumn !

Inaba Shidare Japanese maple is gorgeous, half red and half green still in this shot.

Dwarf Goats Beard is AMAZING for Fall colour .. I have two older ones with a hosta in between.

One goes fiery red like this and the other gold .. figure that one out !

The dark purple barberry really helps contrast those colours.

This anemone "Curtain Call Deep Rose" bloomed its many heads off until the "last call"

I would recommend it highly .. but I am wondering if it will come back as strong for next year yet.

I have had problems with anemone before so I will hold my final judgement yet.

Even at that ? it was so gorgeous, I wouldn't mind that much if it behaved like an annual.

Finally the November 1st evening moon .... a difficult catch, in between cloud cover and focusing.

I am such a fan of the moon, and I am so happy to photograph a some what decent shot.

I have a few more bulbs to plant and then I am calling it quits for winter .. such is a garden in a four season part of the country.

The Time of the Toad

My last blooming plant is a show stopper for me and looks especially pretty with Japanese Forest grass and Ghost Fern as a foil.

 I thought if I did a series of shots leading up to a final close up , it might give you a better sense of proportion with how small and delicate these toad lilies look.

However, they are very tenacious and survive our Canadian winters even though they look like they might have the status of an orchid.

I have a few other beauties .. the blue asters just keep blooming their little heads off.

Insects keep visiting the anemone

The wax bells are just about done

My anonymous fern looks hardy here but I won't know for sure until next Spring.

I have three red twig dogwood shrubs lined up against the back fence and I am hoping to see bright red colour from them during the winter.

Speaking of colour .. yes I am still fascinated by this little beauty.

This Golden Spirit cotinus is trying to be "golden" now

Lastly  ... how "Autumn" can a plant look, as the foliage of an azalea ?

A Little Tattered and Worn

 Look up into the yellow bell and see the bottom of a bee very hard at work  in the header picture.  It took me a while before I realized it !

The garden is becoming a little (or a lot ) tattered , but sometimes when the sun light is just right , you can see such beauty filtering through the worn foliage and the dried flower heads.

It amazes me how many pollinators absolutely love sedum of every kind .. the shadow and light bring out wonderful features of the flowerheads.

Geranium Rozanne seems bluer than blue , even in the shadows.

Little Lamb is the deepest rose pink that it will ever be as the season is closing.

By now I am too late to cut flowers and save them ... little project time lines have passed me by.

I meant to get more pictures of this little aster that is so stubborn about existing in the shadier side of my back garden

What a remarkable blue though right ?

I was able to capture this sweet little bee still so hard at work.

I have been trying to leave as much as I can for the pollinators even as the BES are beginning to brown off .. I was thinking our little finches and smaller birds might want the seeds.

This is a late game golden rod that I kept pinching off to hold it back to feed the insects.

My dark foliage bugbane has been so pretty to see bloom from tight buds to fluffy flower heads.

They remind me of Bear's Britches aka Acanthus Mollis

Korean Yellow Wax Bells almost look artificial at times.

I couldn't resist taking this picture even with the glare of the sun reflecting back on the camera.

It just felt like a perfect moment in time to see the garden in Autumn mode.

I shot this full moon picture last night (October 2nd) it was difficult because of the trajectory of it moving over my neighbor's roof and the dark light value of the sky .. but it was a gorgeous cool night with a lot of twinkling stars in the sky and I was glad to find it because rain is moving in and that was my only chance .. no beautiful yellow cast, but wonderful all the same for night sky watchers.