The confused face of autumn

Here in the garden it is definitely autumn.   The deciduous trees are dropping leaves or are about to begin that process.  The blazing Japanese Maple (acer palmatum sango kaku, Carol-bark maple) has all but finished its stunning display and the last leaves are falling.

However next to the tree is Feijoa Bambina which has three poor sized fruit on it, after a stunning flowering period in spring.   It mistakenly thinks it is spring with this dramatic single flower appearing and other flower buds showing.

So much about gardening involves puzzlement and surprise.

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Playing with autumn light and colour

A new “smarty pants” camera means a lot of playing is needed to learn how it works and how to get satisfying results with it.

The Japanese Maple tree has provided me with a great subject to play around with on the camera.  I also love to explore light as I take photographs.

So some of these following images are taken with the sunlight behind me, some with the leaves backlit, others a wonderful example of the sheer beauty this tree has offered to us in the past fortnight.

The Japanese Maple tree’s magnificent colour display

Three days went by between these photos and the ones I posted in my previous post.  The colours on the tree had intensified dramatically.  The tree had become a visual treat of autumn blaze with some of the lower branches still holding to green.  It is easy to sit and enjoy the display being played out in front of our eyes and to wonder at the exact factors which have influenced such drama.

Autumn shows it hand.

We planted a Japanese maple in our garden almost 20 years ago and it offers delight during every season.  Spring and autumn are the most spectacular times for this tree to display its beauty.  We have not enjoyed settled weather at all this year until late April.  Since then we have had some splendid autumn weather and perhaps chilly nights, no wind and warm days account for the amazing colour display we have been enjoying.  Members of the household agree that this has been one of the very best displays we have seen on this tree.

These photos were taken on 25th April 2017 and show the branchlets turning fiery red but the leaves a mix of green and coloured.

Three days later I took some more photos.  Look out for these in my next post.

The jewels of a winter morning

Chilly showers in the night left rain drops hanging from many of the branches in the garden this morning.

The stillness of the early morning kept these jewels sparkling long enough for me to take some photographs.

Green for healing

The Man of the House and I have fallen prey to a miserable virus. There is a line-up of immune boosting supplements, cold and flu relief products, boxes of tissues, cough lozenges and extra fluid options in evidence at the moment.
We have needed an abundance of healing vibes and green is a colour for that. The beautiful light and my need for some fresh air drew me out into the garden on Thursday as the sun was lowering in the sky. Greens everywhere took my eye and offered freshness and something of a mirror to our current vulnerability.

Fresh and new growth does not always survive an onslaught.

But in a turn for the better, as the dreary symptoms begin to abate, I spotted this beauty as I ventured down to the shop for some more cough lozenges for the MoH. It heralds a return to being “in the pink” once again and we are really looking forward to that!


By the way…..this is a Chinese Toon tree and it always reminds me of Dr Seuss and his wonderful stories and rhymes which hold so much wisdom and offer so much fun and laughter (which is the best medicine!!)
You can go here to find out more about this amazing tree and how it has even more medicinal uses.

The winter garden

Winter officially began yesterday.

The winter garden holds different views as some autumnal aspects hold on while other aspects are in winter mode.
The Golden Elm shedding its leaves slowly, slowly.

The perky face of a self -sown pansy.

The blood-red branchlets of the near bare Japanese Maple tree. Doesn’t this colour speak of things to come in spring?

A small toadstool that survived for a day.

The wet outdoor garden chair after the hail showers earlier in the week.

Out of the blue

The pattern of rainy weather continues on here. But in a small gap between weather systems, the sun came out and the sky was blue. Rain is falling again as I type this. The garden is not thirsty.

The magnolia has burst forth with more flowers.

The gales of the past day or so plus the rainy weather have damaged some of the flowers. The tree is nearly 40 years old and was planted by a previous owner so I have no idea of the type of magnolia it is.

It hunkers down by a fence and is protected by an ever green magnolia in our neighbour’s garden plus the surprising tall Japanese Maple nearby.

The magnolia’s spread is wide and reasonably high.

Here is my best effort at capturing it while the sun shone on me and the light was welcomingly bright.

The weather forecast is for a thunderstorm and hail today and if hail falls the flowers will really suffer. An out of the blue opportunity was too good to miss with the camera.

However no thunder and no hail arrived. The magnolia has enjoyed that and so have all the humans:-)