Autumn In The Air!

Well, I woke up to a glorious day of sunlight dancing across the tree tops. A light breeze has random leaves falling and a cool, brisk morning of fresh air upon the face says Fall Is Here!

I decided to take a few, outdoor pictures to commemorate my favorite season of the year. I'm sure these will be the first of many to come. I love seeing the drastic changes from day to day and week to week during this time of year.

Upon walking outdoors, the fresh, welcomed, pungent smell of Witch Hazel blooms caught my nose. I'm lucky enough to have one growing near my entryway and always anticipate its odd aroma during the cooler months of the year. Its unique pom-pom blooms in yellow-green jump out as sharply as its fragrance. It is perhaps one of my favorite shrubs (more like a tree for me as it towers about 14-16 feet high).  I can look forward to its odd blooms again in late Winter as well; bright yellow against the white snow, except at that time, there will be bare, brown branches making the blooms more pronounced..

The intense, welcoming fragrance of Witch Hazel as Autumn sets in.

Leaves, leaves, leaves.  Yes, there will be a plethora of them in no time.  For now, they sure look pretty gathering along the edges of the walkways bordering the property.

Simple Beauty In Nature.

Late season Impatiens provide bright color as fallen leaves become the "new neighbors".

I hope you too have some welcomed signs of the season that you enjoy.  Tell us what you enjoy most during this time of year.

A Surprising Late Season Arrival

While outside this morning taking some pictures for a new webpage, I walked right past an unlikely, late September, new arrival . . . Morning Glory!

It was a rather overcast morning when a pop of blue "glory" caught my eye.  To my surprise, two blue blooms had opened on a Morning Glory vine I had seen earlier in the year, transplanted to a more appropriate spot and forgot about.  It was easy to miss this vine's growth as I had placed it in the ground near my clematis, hoping the two would mix and be blooming at the same time.  Not so.  The clematis bloom time has come and gone months ago.  Still, a wandering vine was making headway, stealthily.

 

A welcomed, late Summer guest this year, I hope it sticks around for awhile.  At least until the orange of pumpkins and leaves grace the grounds.

"Wild" Impatiens

I have to reiterate my Love of Impatiens!  I can't get enough of them.  They are absolutely my favorite flower due to their care-free style; meaning I have to do very little "caring" to keep them looking great.  They "maintain" themselves (for the most part), shedding spent blooms and replacing them with equally brilliant ones.

Pretty In Pink

This annual loves the climate and soil of my property so much that it has become a perennial for me in Pennsylvania - Zone 6a (Use this zone finder to find yours.) Yes, I have "wild" impatiens popping up all over the place.  Imagine if I could get them to overtake my entire yard.  Now that would be an incredible carpet of color?!  I think somebody needs to work on a hybrid Impatiens groundcover.

Spilling from the center of an old tree trunk.

The nights have gotten somewhat cooler recently and those cooling temps really do the impatiens well.  They look so vivid and perky in the mornings this time of year.  I can expect this color to continue right through fall until the first, hard frost - practically two full seasons of color!

Popping up from some gravel along my front walkway.
A welcomed  "guest" as opposed to the pesky weeds.

If you've never planted Impatiens before, you must give them a try.  Just be sure you have a nice, shady location for them. Perhaps you too will find that you have "wild" Impatiens the following year.

A flower head catching some morning sun rays.  Leaves still wet with dew.

A bounty of color growing from an old tree stump.
Welcomed color in a predominately green "zone".

Simple Beauty

 

Birdbath Plant Stand

Do you have an old birdbath that has seen better days?  Use it as an outdoor plant stand.  You can invert them as I have done in this photo so no water collects in the basin.  Or you can drill holes into the basin to allow for proper draining.  I have done this with numerous old birdbaths.  It looks great with a trailing and draping annual.

Impatiens and Creeping Jenny provide "no-fuss" beauty and color.

For more information on Container Gardening, or to see more images of birdbath planters, visit
http://www.frugal-interior-design.com/container-gardening.html

Chimney Top "REPURPOSED" As Planter

In case you missed my earlier posts on this subject at the frugal website and facebook page, here it is again.  My chimney was redone back in October of 2010.  I saved the two toppers, knowing they would function somehow in my outdoor living areas.  I decided to use them to disguise and bulk up the look of some plain ole plastic planters that are concealed within.  Perhaps I'll repurpose them differently next year.  A fire pit idea crossed my mind.

Excellent complementary colors of purple, red, lavender and yellow.