Monday, 9 August 2010

I am tempted to open the gate.........

I love this time of year......
when summer is still very evident but autumn is waiting at the garden gate.

Rosebay Willowherb is invasive but I have a forgiving nature. The seeds are just so pretty, wrapped in feathery fluff. I shall have to keep an eye on her.........I want her to stay but not to wander. I am sure we will get along fine.
Have you noticed how the light changes at this time of year? Everything becomes just a little softer.
The colour change always leaves me slightly melancholy......
and cooler mornings refresh me.
I adore autumn......my very favourite season. I almost want to open the gate and say come on in, I am ready for you.
With age, comes patience. There is still much to see and enjoy in the garden.
I shall keep the gate shut tight, for a little longer........


32 comments:

  1. Everything in our garden is going to cook this week. I am just so sick of hot weather. Everything looks wilted here except where I water which is just outside my patio doors. I can't bear to see this area in a major wilt. I love seeing your birds. I have been trying to take photos of the hummer that is coming to the hosta blooms just outside my studio window but it always flies away when I try. I will keep trying. Enjoy your cool mornings. I can't wait to have cool mornings again.

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  2. I love autumn except for the fact that it is followed by winter which I find often depressing - I need light and that is what is missing in winter. Love the photos.

    Jane

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  3. Hi Lisa...I understand, it is so sad when the plants and trees desparately need water and the temperature is running high. We have not had rain but at least it is cooler only 23C 76F today, that is fine for me.
    I do hope the weather soon cools, it can be difficult to cope with.

    At least you can see the hummer. that must be wonderful. They are such beautiful birds......

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  4. Hi Jane.....Mr P does not like winter for the same reason. I understand,. Have you tried one of the lamps? I must say I like all seasons, for they all have a beauty of their own.
    I also like to garden in the winter and I find that keeps me positive......

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  5. The weather has been so miserable here, it's hard to get up much enthusiasm for gardening. It's about all I can do to keep the lawn mowed. I envy you your pleasant days and softer light.
    Marnie

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  6. LOL, Cooler mornings? Not here. I also love the light in fall. Fall has always been my favorite season. And I even love winter. It's just that 6 months is too long. Every February I swear I need to move to Cornwall. :)

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  7. I love all the seasons, I could just do with a little less summer! I think Autumn is my favorite though. I absolutely adore how the air gets soft as the coolness seeps in. Something to look forward to as it is sweltering here.

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  8. Hi Marnie....it must be very difficult to confour up enthusiasm for gardening when it is so very hot.

    Wishing you cooler days.......

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  9. Hi Monica, I would love to live in Cornwall.....a little hideaway somewhere.
    The climate is milder than my part of UK.
    We always try to visit Cornwall in Februray for a week or so. I love it, especially the deserted beaches....

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  10. Hi Jenny, sorry to hear that you are still suffering with extreme temperatures. Hope autumn will soon be knocking on your door,and you can all cool down.....

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  11. Cheryl - you are not finding any further posts from me since I was trying to set up a separate page for the childhood memories posts without much success and did a page that said Testing Testing and then deleted it! I will post again soon but for the moment you are all up to date!

    Jane

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  12. Hi Cheryl,

    I am not quite ready for Autumn yet... The cooler weather certainly does make it feel like it's coming but for the past few years September and October has seen much better weather, so thankfully Autumn isn't quite here!

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  13. Hi Jane.....ah, that explains it.

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  14. Hi Liz.....it is interesting how we all see things differently. I suppose a lot of it is down to where we live. I also remember you find the winter months make you feel a little low. Mr P is exactly the same.


    I really do not want the warm dry weather we had last Sept/Oct. My garden is dry enough. This area has a high water table, so should be damp for most of the year (slightly flooded in winter)
    I have seen a huge change these last few years, and must confess I do not like it.
    When I moved here, I planted for the wet conditions.....my garden is beginning to really struggle, and I do not want to spend my life watering it. Water is precious.....I have lost quite a few plants this year. I suppose nothing stays the same?

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  15. Hi my friend...it is very hot here today and has been for the last couple of days with scattered showers and thundershowers in the forcast but the rain has not happened yet!!
    We had a slight shower Sunday night but when I did some weeding Monday morning the ground was not even damp!!
    If it continues to be this dry the Autumn foliage will be early and not have the deep colors!!!
    I am ready for Autumn because I like the cool nights and warm days ...but not ready to think of what is to follow "SNOW"!!!!
    I like you photo of the Rosebay Herb...it is so dainty and fluffy...takes me to whimsical fairy tale places : }
    Nice thought pondering post!!!

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  16. Cheryl, I've never heard of Rosebay Willowherb - it's delightful, as are your captures in this post. You caught the "light" of this season so well. It's cooling off a bit right now here but we have about two months to go until Autumn is really here.

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  17. Hi Cheryl
    I always think that autumn in North Wales starts about now - colder mornings and evenings and clearer light. Autumn always was, and still is, my favourite season too.
    Interesting to read of the hotter weather amongst other bloggers!!
    Thank you for reintroducing me to the plants of my childhood! I didn't know their names back then (but I certainly recognise them), I will try to follow your lead in my new garden!
    I recognise the birds, so I'm not a lost cause!
    I really love your last two photographs...
    Dan
    -x-

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  18. I'm certainly in a better frame of mind with less heat and humidity and so is the garden. When we were young we wanted the time to fly by but now every little moment should be savoured for they will never return except in our memories. Lovely selection from the garden Cheryl.

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  19. Such a lovely post, Cheryl--the butterfly on the white echinacea is such a pretty photo. It is so tempting at times to wish for time to hurry along, yet at my age, too, I realize I don't want it to fly too fast:) I am ready, though, to open the gate for autumn, if only to have some cooler weather! Even the evenings and mornings are sweltering. Like Lisa, my garden is cooking:)

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  20. Hi Grammie, it rained here all day yesterday, soft rain. Like you I tested the soil, the rain had only touched the surface. We do not realise just how precious rain is, until we do not have it.

    I do not want to think of the SNOW word. Fortunately we do not get much here, although last winter was an exception. We do not cope with snow in my part of the world...lol

    I wonder what the autumn will bring.....I always play the guessing game......

    Rosebay willowherb is quite invasive but I just cannot resist her charms......

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  21. Hi Amy....glad you are getting some relief from the heat, even if it is only temporary.....

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  22. Hi Dan...tku. You give me hope for the future when you say you will try 'to follow my lead'
    It is so important to keep our native plants to help the wildlife....if I have helped one person, then my blog has been worthwhile.
    You lift my heart and spirit. When I see the changes in the cottage and all you have done, I have a wonderful vision of the garden surrounding it.......

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  23. Frank, such true words. I savour every moment, and find simple pleasure each day.
    We are fortunate, in as much that we are able to do that. Many people let life slip by.......and live with regret. I have no intention of doing that......

    Hope you are well.....

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  24. Hi Rose, with age comes wisdom. I live my life a day at a time. That way I can enjoy the precious little things that happen, that I might otherwise miss.

    I do hope the weather cools down for you Rose. I wish rain for your garden.........and a cool gentle breeze for you.

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  25. Good luck with the RWH - I find it terribly invasive and if allowed to establish creates an evil, solid root mass that permits nothing else to grow near it. Shame - it is, as you say, so pretty.

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  26. Your images are beautiful and capture the wistfulness of the approaching autumn

    Laura

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  27. Hi Cheryl,

    Interestingly I was reading an article I think on the BBC, saying Autumn is coming later this year and that very few Blackberries have been recorded as ripe yet by Wildlife trust volunteers.
    My blackberries are now just beginning to ripen, but they’re very few. And on my walk to work there’s an incredible sea of berries this year – most still red, few turning purple. It’s going to be a bumper year when they finally ripen!

    And actually, they’re right… I took a photo of a bowl of Blackberries in July last year… 25th July to be precise. My influx of Butterflies onto the Buddleja are about on cue though with the same time last year – and here I was thinking they were late!

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  28. Hi Bilbo....I agree, it is terribly invasive. Fortunately for me, it is in the wild flower meadow, near the copse. It is not in the garden, so we shall get along just fine.....

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  29. Tku Laura, much appreciated.....

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  30. Hi Liz.....I have a hedge full of blackberries, not ripe yet as you say but the haws are turning red. I personally think it all depends where you live. I have loads of plums, hips are ripe and being eaten.

    I have butterflies galore.........I have never known so many in the garden. Great isn't it?

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  31. Dear Cheryl,
    I so enjoyed this post! Soon I hope for a cool down! Like Rose and Lisa my yard and gardens are cooked....looking forward to cool mornings....
    Seeing your birds is wonderful. I also love the white cone flower with her darling butterfly. My white cone flowers are setting seed.
    Lovely post!
    Sherry

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  32. Dear Sherry, thank you. I just feel so sad when a garden bakes.......it just does not seem right. I wish you lower temperatures.....and a little rain.

    I love the butterfly on the cone flower. White Swan always reminds me of you......one reason I planted it.

    September is not too far away now!

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