Sunday 31 October 2010

End of Month View – October 2010


I’m quite surprised to have plants around, at the end of September it seemed rather unlikely, but here we are with colour, and flowers still very much in attendance, even if they are somewhat fewer in number.

Viola and Cyclamen are making for a pretty picture



The trees seem to have suddenly decided it’s Autumn, many around us have now put on their show. It’s wonderful!




Tomatoes look rather sad, but actually add some colour, so I’m leaving them to nature.





Plump Cotoneaster berries will hopefully attract a few of the many, many Waxwings which have made the trip across from Scandinavia in the past week.

Dwarf Russian Almond

Rose

This Geranium is looking particularly pretty


And now for the star of the show… Aster 'Lady in Black'








Mexican Fleabane is going strong


Shady area under the Cherry which will hopefully look much better next year. Along with the recently planted Ferns and Geraniums I also have Pulmonaria and plenty of Anemone and Tulip bulbs.




Btw, apologies if the photos are different, or look wrong. I've got a new laptop and am having a few issues with Photoshop CS5. I *think* they should look fine to you all but cannot be sure.

19 comments:

sweetmyrtle said...

stunning photos as always.. sigh... just dreamy the softness you capture. you should print them all out and cover a whole wall patchwork style... really beautiful. happy summer's end
ginny x

Cyndy said...

Your photos look wonderful to me! Jealous of your beautiful cyclamens - think it's a bit too cold here for them.

Carol said...

Stunning Liz! Your first photo is so lovely then you lead us into the brilliant fall colors found within your garden. I love the tomatoes too. Wonderful clouds of asters! Very special. Have a great Sunday. Happy nearly November. ;>)

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

Yep, photos are fine - better than fine! Lovely aster (I'm slowly getting used to saying that, I'm a late convert). I love autumn.

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Your photos look fine Liz! You have beautiful blooms and fall color at the moment. Don't worry about the tomatoes, after our recent rains, ours look just as sad.

Northern Shade said...

It looks like you've got the settings for Photoshop just fine.

The pink and white colours of the pansies and cyclamen make it look like a spring garden already, very soft and fresh for this time of year.

'Lady in Black' is a bit mysterious for her name, with lots of white and pink colour, very showy.

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz, I love cyclamen, such pretty little flowers. I bought several cyclamen hederifolium this year and they look well settled under the old apple tree.

Love 'lady in black', that is definately one for my wish list.

I have always wanted to see a Waxwing, they are such beautiful birds. Not sure if they come South......I hope so.
Berries are in abundance this year, aren't they??

Lovely photographs as always.....they all look great to me.

Liz said...

Hi Ginny,

Wonderful idea to cover a wall with photos... Mmm, now if only I had the confidence to do so!
I must admit that I do need more photoframes for my pictures, I haven't put any up for a long time now. I recently bought a new printer and may have a play around :)

Liz said...

Hi Cyndy,

Thanks! The Cyclamens usually manage through the entire winter and into Spring here. Last year they were killed off in December/Jan with heavy snows but I hope we don't have a repeat winter this year... I know I will have jinxed myself now!

Liz said...

Hi Carol,

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos :)
It feels as though there's nothing happening in the garden, when that is in fact far from the truth judging by the number of photos I managed to post...

Liz said...

Hi CV,

We had a frost a couple of weeks ago and I think it killed the Tomatoes off, these by the house don't look anything near as bad as those in the planter up the garden - blackened.

Liz said...

Hi NS,

The problem with Photoshop was whenever I was saving the images for the web, they looked different to the images I had 'made'. It was beginning to really annoy me because they just weren't what I wanted! I think I've sorted it, as there was a setting I believe is new to CS5 - or at least I've never noticed it before...

I think Lady in Black is named due to her dark stems... At least that's what I have to assume because she isn't looking very black to me ;)

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl,

Are your Cyclamen the 'wild' type? I had planned on buying some - had them in my 'basket' but the cost would've been around £100, so sadly I had to delete some items and the Cyclamen had to go. I'd like to plant some in the shady area under the Cherry some day.

Would you like some seeds from 'Lady in Black'? I don't know how successful it will be, but no harm in trying, is there?

The year before last we had many Waxwing here, they often come to Sheffield and there were flocks of 50+ around the city. I was lucky enough to see them on a number of occasions walking to/from work and even had them on my road. Our berry shrubs were not yet mature enough to attract them though, and they still are quite small so I may miss out again.
This year there have already been lots sighted, even down your end of the country, do you may be lucky.
They are best seen in carparks of retail parks where Rowan and Cotoneaster are often planted. So make your way to a supermarket or shopping retail park!

Liz said...

Hi Janet,

I'm quite a late convert to Asters too... I've also found myself becoming interested in 'mums too - a flower I've always disliked.

Asters are so good at this time of year, very much worth the conversion. You will appreciate them in your garden if you were to plant some.

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

The photos are lovely Liz - I bought lady in black this year so I'm hoping that it will put on lots of growth so I can have some flowers like yours next year - they look ever so pretty in your macros.

In cs5 what quality do you save yours at 60 or 30? - I normally do 30 on my lnb blog.

debsgarden said...

I always enjoy your photography. The close-ups are stunning and reveal beauty in nature we might overlook. I love the cyclamen!

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz, the cyclamen are the nearest I am going to get to the wild type. Hederifolium (alpine) have very tiny flowers, they are really lovely. They are perfect for planting under trees. Mine have increased during the last two weeks which has really surprised me.
I have noticed some wild cyclamen along one of the lanes. I would not dig them up, I would feel so guilty......it is just not me. They look so incredibly pretty......

Would love love love some aster seeds, tku muchly. I am sure they will do well......

I will look out for the Waxwing, I would just love to see one.
Do they like other berries? I have a garden full of them.

Bub said...

The photos look stunning - as always! I agree with Ginny about printing them out - you could certainly consider selling some of them!

Charlene said...

The soft color in your second set of images is lovely.