“I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.” ~Sheng Yen
This was the sight when the first rays of soft sunlight hit my frozen garden on October 29th, the date of our first freeze (or first hard frost). Up until that point my garden was happily churning out blooms. Roses, asters, fall crocus, coreopsis were all blooming as if they hadn’t a care in the world. Then their world was stopped overnight as the mercury dipped to a chilling 24 degrees.
And while I knew the freeze would kill all the blooms, I also knew that they would be revealed one last time in all their glory. The morning sun 
was like a spotlight showing them off encased in ice just as they had died. My garden had become a suspended wonderland. Every leaf and flower was held in its full color and bloom long enough for me to capture it for the last time. I made sure I snapped as many pictures as possible before the sun melted everything. For when the sun has its way with icy blooms and leaves, many are left black, brown, faded; nothing left but a sagging mess hanging from branches.
Of course they looked perfect for Halloween. The once gorgeous red tipped leaves of hydrangea now a mass of black leaves looking spooky in the front garden.
But that first hard frost or freeze is the prettiest. It allows you to see your garden one last time in its splendor before you have to let it go. Once I was done taking snapshots, I turned my back and said a sad, soft goodbye as I let my garden go for this season.
I noticed all the buzzing and flitting or insects had ceased as well. Now the sounds that fill the garden are those of the birds making music again. Something to rejoice about at least for now until the next layers of cold and snow take the garden deeper into her long slumber.
Recently on the Tiny Buddha blog, I read this about letting go:
Letting go brings abundance.
Sometimes letting go is the absolute hardest thing to do. But when we hold on too tight we leave no room for the light to get through. It’s like catching a feather: you have to hold out your hand and allow the feather to fall into your reach.
You can’t catch a feather by frantically flailing and grasping for it. Once you loosen your grip on a perceived outcome, things start to unfold organically. Learning not to force things opens up the possibility for the brilliant and the extraordinary to happen.
Isn’t this just fabulous. It filled my soul with gladness and made me realize that in the letting go, we bring so much more to us than we will ever realize. So in celebration of the gratitude for all the joys and abundance my garden and life have given me this year, I am linking in with Laura@ShinetheDivine for her wonderful Gratitude Quilt. You can still join her by the 24th. It is easy to do.
So what is still blooming in November? Nothing. But there are many remnants of prior blooms and lovely memories to share. All the blooms and foliage here are as they were captured the morning after the first freeze at the end of October.
The November foliage was beautiful especially wearing its frosty coat. I am joining with Pam@Digging for her Foliage Follow Up on the 16th, and Christina@Creating my own garden of the Hesperides for her Garden Bloggers Foliage Day on the 22nd.
Itea in all its ruby glory.
Hydrangea leaves in their final bloom.
The fabulous sparkling colors of hardy hibiscus in the fall.
More gorgeous frosty color from the foliage of Sanguisorba officinalis.
Viburnum dentatum ‘Blue Muffin’ still showing off.
Icy Baptisia glowing in the morning sun.
“In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” ~Buddhist saying
Seasonal Celebrations is coming December 1st. I hope you will join in as we celebrate the changing of the season. The Winter Solstice will be upon us here in the North and the Summer Solstice in the South. Details below!
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Come Join Us:
Seasonal Celebrations is a time for marking the change of seasons and what is happening in your part of the world during this time. I hope you will join in by creating a post telling us how you celebrate this time of year whether winter or summer or something else. Share your traditions, holidays, gardens and celebrations in pictures, poetry or words starting December 1st. I will post a bit early though around November 29th or 30th.
And it seems so appropriate to collaborate with Beth and her Lessons Learned meme. What lessons have you learned this past season of fall here in the North and spring in the South. Then tell us about your wishes, desires and dreams for this new season.The rules are simple. Just create a post that talks about lessons learned 
and/or seasonal celebrations. If you are joining in for both memes please leave a comment on both our blog posts. Or if you are choosing to join only one meme, leave a comment on that blog post. Make sure to include a link with your comment.
Beth and I will do a summary post of our respective memes on the solstice (the 20th of December). And we will keep those posts linked on a page on our blog. Your post should be linked in the weekend before the equinox to give us enough time to include your post in our summary. And if you link in a bit late, never fear we will include it on the special blog page (which I still have to create). The badges here can be used in your post. So won’t you join in the celebration!!
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Next up on the blog: Monday I will be reviewing another great Garden Book about native plants.
I wrote a guest post over at Vision and Verb. I hope you will visit this wonderful website of women writers.
I hope you will join me for my posts once a month at Beautiful Wildlife Garden. See my next post on the 12th.
I am also joining in I Heart Macro with Laura@Shine The Divine that happens every Saturday.
As always, I’ll be joining Tootsie Time’s Fertilizer Friday.
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