“There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.” ― Joe L. Wheeler
I still to this day covet the time of year when leaves pile up in the garden. They indeed make me nostalgic for a more playful time. A time of rest coming. When we sweep away the decaying old growth and make way for a rebirth. When the musky smell calls us to slow, observe and bask in the gentleness of the new season of fall.
And in the midst of this slowdown comes a melancholy as the warm seasons are behind us, the profusion of flowers are going, going, gone. And the harvest is ending with the first frost and freeze already too early this year.
This autumn my mantra is all about honoring autumn and rejoicing in its abundance and blessings. Time to weed, dig, amend and prep the garden for next year. Time to notice the beauty of the colors as the foliage takes center stage.
“All seasons have something to offer” ~Jeannette Walls
Fall is not a favorite month for many as we don’t want to see the weather turn cold and the garden end. With the early frost, I had to harvest all my homegrown marigolds. They filled 4 vases that I am sharing for this Seasonal Celebrations wrap-up post.
I am sharing this wrap-up of my seasonal meme with a few other link ups. This week, I am linking with Cathy@Rambling in the Garden for her meme, In a Vase on Monday, and Today’s Flowers hosted by Denise@An English Girl Rambles. And I am also linking this post to Judith@Lavender Cottage who is now hosting Mosaic Monday.
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So let’s see what wishes, dreams and thoughts folks have for celebrating the new season….
Pam@Pam’s English Cottage Garden has a wonderful way of celebrating the change of seasons. She takes her harvest and flowers and displays them at the local county fair in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Pam took 28 ribbons for all her entries, 12 were first place ribbons. I say that is a grand celebration:
…..Fair marks the unofficial end of summer here…… I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the changes!
As the seasons go along, we are reminded that we must provide for wildlife in all seasons. And that is what Michelle@Rambling Woods has done with her beautiful post. She shows the evolution of her wildlife garden and laments about the seasonal change in her Western New York garden:
While I do love the fall colors, I find it to be bittersweet and a reminder that Mother Nature keeps moving forward even if my heart is still with the summer.
Sue Link@The Northern New York Gardener is marking the seasonal change by observing the fall migration. Sue is just a half hour North of me in a beautiful rural area that glows with wildflowers and wildlife in her garden and surrounding areas.
Signs that fall is approaching in Northern New York. The geese are practicing their V-formations,
the fields are golden, the corn needs to be harvested., and a touch of red in the leaves of trees.
In Germany, Cathy@Words and Herbs is celebrating the coming of September by making the traditional Bavarian dish: Reiberdatschi, also known as potato pancakes. Cathy has been busy with gardening chores, harvesting and basking in thoughts of autumn.
Autumn has always been my favourite time of year….And thoughts of golden Octobers, with all those rich colours, also made me happy even before I became a gardener.
Micupoftea@Poetry In A Pot of Tea is watching summer change to fall and thinking of the hot temperatures and lots of sunshine in her California garden. Many of her plants are drying and brown, and some like her red Celosia are looking like a flame. As she says:
I wouldn’t mind a little less sunshine and a little more Fall.
Harvesting the last of summer flowers in her Wisconsin garden, Beth@PlantPostings is arranging some lovely vases from her plentiful blooms. She certainly has a wonderful knack for creating beautiful vases. As Beth says:
Arranging flowers and other garden elements is one of my favorite things to do during the fall.
In the state of Washington, Tatyana@My Secret Garden is also showing a dazzling array of blooms from her garden. She picked one of each variety blooming and displayed them in various colorful arrangements on a table. I love how she covered the table in there last of summer blooms as she celebrates fall’s arrival.
Rose@Prairie Rose’s Garden, in central Illinois, is marking the change of seasons by enjoying every minute. She is savoring the flowers, veggies and critters that remain in her garden. And as Rose says:
I am going to remember especially this last lesson and take some time each day to enjoy the beauty around me. It’s nourishment for the soul.
In Texas, Shirley@Rock-Oak-Deer is joining in our celebration of autumn with fall events for San Antonio gardeners. As Shirley says:
…in San Antonio, we are beginning our second gardening season of the year which typically lasts until late November. We are so fortunate have a number of active gardening groups in San Antonio sponsoring excellent events over the next few weeks to help get our gardens going.
What a dream to be gardening well into fall, and attending native plant and herb sales. Oh and the garden tours are a perfect culmination to the end of the gardening season in late fall.
And finally Susie@life-change-compost has a wonderful celebration of life, history, and adventure as fall slips in now. Susie made a wonderful trip to Vermont for a reunion and to experience what she calls her mantra of Love, Beauty and Spirituality. I have a similar mantra these days. Her perceptions about life and the beauty of Vermont were a treat:
Getting out of our comfort zone once again proved to be magic. With the passing of time and the losses that life brings, we knew doing something neither of us had ever done before would be another way to keep us feeling young and alive.
Here’s to constantly moving that comfort zone and forever trying new adventures. Thanks for the reminder Susie!
“I have an affection for those transitional seasons, the way they take the edge off the intense cold of winter, or heat of summer.” ― Whitney Otto
Special Note: All the vases used a mixture of 6 plants: marigolds, chameleon plant leaves with a tinge of burgundy, grasses turning orange, giant horsetail, giant burnet and small white asters. Some vases used as few as three of these plants and some used all 6. I love how they all blend together.
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Next up on the blog:
Wednesday I will have another Native Plant profile. And next Monday, I will have an update on my veg garden.
I am also joining in I Heart Macro with Laura@Shine The Divine that happens every Saturday.