Even though the autumnal equinox is more than two weeks away (Sept. 23 this year), it feels like we're already in seasonal free fall. Is it the kids going back to school, the vine maples coloring up, the dew that seems to grow heavier each morning? Viscerally autumn has arrived, even though it'll take two more weeks for the sun to cross the equator and signal the official change of season in our Northern hemisphere.
So to cheer me up about how dark it is in the mornings, let alone how chilly, I went out with my camera to capture what is still going strong in my Langley garden. From raspberries to dahlias, it's still summer in the garden if not in our bones....
The daisies of late summer....
Sungold tomatoes ripening (finally!)
Little ghost pumpkin climbing the hogwire screen
Dahlia slow to open in the less-than-warm weather
Purple-leafed grapes bearing fruit as ornamental as the leaves
Thanks for the nice end-of-summer photos, Val. I just bought your book "the NEW Low-Maintenance Garden" and am soaking in the philosophy and examples. I noted you provide a lot of resources. My husband remarked if I bring in ANOTHER garden book someday my epitaph might read "She was buried under a pile of garden books"! Well, not true, I replied. Old, outdated garden books have no place on my bookshelves. Your books remain where they're always handy.
Posted by: Linda Hoke | September 04, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Dear Mr. Easton,
I (architect) recently visited a friend of mine in Bellevue and found that she has a wonderful modern garden which is so beautiful that I thought you might be interested in writing an article about it for the Seattle Times. I have created a photo album for the garden. So if you could give me your email address, I will be more than happy to share the album with you. Thank you very much and hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Johnny Cheng
Posted by: Johnny Cheng | September 27, 2010 at 09:08 PM
Hi Valerie,
Johnny Gibbons here from the Smithsonian Institution in DC. I love your blog.
I thought you might like to see our newest short video…this one focuses on butterfly gardening.
Our gardens here at the Smithsonian are home to a variety of plants, insects and butterflies. As we move into the fall months, take some time to prepare your butterfly garden for the cool weather. Jonathan Kavalier, Smithsonian Gardens Horticulturist, shares some important facts of butterfly gardening and provides viewers with several fall gardening tips. http://bit.ly/dyyVep
I hope you enjoy it. And please let me know if you can share it with your readers and website visitors.
Best,
Johnny
John Gibbons
Press Secretary for Science
Office of Public Affairs
Smithsonian Institution
Office: 202-633-5187
Cell: 202-674-3434
Posted by: Johnny Gibbons | September 28, 2010 at 11:21 AM
I just love plants! That is why I look everywhere to find blogs about plants like your blog.
The sungold tomatoes are wonderful to look at. And also those ghost pumpkins. We don't have that one in my place.
I'm actually a grape grower but seeing these plants are a pretty sight for me to resist.
Posted by: CassidyF | January 08, 2011 at 06:31 AM