From Red October to Yellow November.
On my balcony and in the condo courtyard, butter and lemon and touches of red-purple have brightened November's gray days.
I'd like to say this is due to my careful planning, but to be honest, it's because of the limited colour variety at the garden centre earlier this month.
Here are some images of the flowers and grasses in pots in our condo's courtyard garden.
I wonder what colour December will be. I'm thinking white.....lots of white.
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Viola SorbetTM Lemon Chiffon. An essential ingredient in my autumn hanging basket recipe. If you garden in Zones 4-9 may I suggest you include a generous portion in your next container creation. This yellow beauty will put a little Spring in your Fall, add sunshine to gray November days and -- here's the edible bonus -- sweeten your salads.
This hybrid selection is more tolerant of summer heat and winter cold than the annual pansy types. Excellent for massing, edging, rock gardens, and in containers. Nice for combining with spring flowering bulbs. Trim plants back by half in early June. This variety has little flowers in a range of bright and soft yellow shades. Nice compact habit. Sometimes these will flower all winter in climates with mild weather. (Source)
Tête-à-Tête among the Heuchera
Color
by Christina Rossetti
What is pink? a rose is pink
By a fountain's brink.
What is red? a poppy's red
In its barley bed.
What is blue? the sky is blue
Where the clouds float thro'.
What is white? a swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? the grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!
(Source)
Viola cornuta Sorbet (TM) Antique Shades
What is purple? why, a viola,
Not just a viola,
But my favourite viola!
I'd love to see images of your favourite pansies and violas (or other cool season flowers). Please leave a link to your blog or Flickr page in the comments.
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Sometimes it's good and necessary to take a break from thinking about the overwhelming environmental and economic crises and enjoy the gifts of autumn for a moment or two.
Friday, October 3rd -- Yellow, gold and brown leaves flutter and drift to the ground with the rain. October on the We{s}t Coast.
Poppies in October
by Sylvia Plath
Even the sun-clouds this morning cannot manage such skirts.
Nor the woman in the ambulance
Whose red heart blooms through her coat so astoundingly——
A gift, a love gift
Utterly unasked for
By a sky
Palely and flamily
Igniting its carbon monoxides, by eyes
Dulled to a halt under bowlers.
O my God, what am I]]>
That these late mouths should cry open
In a forest of frost, in a dawn of cornflowers.
Source: Poetry Foundation
Last evening I was looking through the camera lens at flowers in my favourite curbside garden near Granville Street and West Broadway. Because I was concentrating on the showier orange, pink and purple blossoms, I almost missed a delicate, white rosebud unfurling.
I will remember this flowers as "my" (it can be yours, too) last rose of
summer 2008. Beauty and resilience in the midst of urban traffic, cared for by the kind and gentle gardener who lives in the brick building on the corner.| ’Tis the last rose of summer |
| Left blooming alone; |
| All her lovely companions |
| Are faded and gone; |
| No flower of her kindred, |
| No rosebud is nigh, |
| To reflect back her blushes, |
| To give sigh for sigh. |
And no spilled soil or water for a change. Taking photos for this blog has unexpected benefits, like helping me be tidier.
What fall crops have you sown in the past and/or what are you planning to sow for the upcoming season? I'd love to know, particularly if you have a balcony garden. This is my first time sowing fall crops. And feel free to share photos of your work area and tips for working in small spaces.