It wasn't all that long ago when we would call ourselves lucky, very lucky indeed, if we had 2 or 3 days of glorious sunshine and balmy weather in October. Nowadays we have come to count on such wonderfully mild and sunny weather at this time of year. Global warming has many drawbacks but this isn't one of them.
I love being out and about in the garden and enjoy these special days as they are probably the last of this year when I can be outside to enjoy my garden without being wrapped up from head to toe. Just a cardie or a light jacket will do.
And there is still so much to enjoy flower wise. It's good to see that there are still many plants in my garden that are bee, hover fly and butterfly magnets.
I love the slanting golden light when it weaves itself around the plants and grasses.
It seems that at this time of year the colours are more intense than they were before or perhaps I'm just more aware of them and of how fragile their beauty is. It won't be long before the real frost will hit and most flowers will shrivel and wither away.
Why is it that things are more beautiful when we know that their beauty is transient, or is that just me?
I love flower arranging and October has enabled me to pick armfuls of flowers with giddy abandon. Such a plethora of flowers makes your head spin, but in a good way.
Pretty!
Very pretty!
In the Victorian greenhouse the last of the tomatoes have been picked but there is still more to look forward to. This little flower is gorgeous and will soon turn into this
and when ripe, it will be berry tasty and golden. Yes, it's Physalis peruviana edulis and I'm frightfully chuffed with it as I've sown it, for the very first time, with my own fair hands earlier this year. Can't wait to harvest those golden berries in a few weeks time. Also of the fun will be going into the greengrocer's to see what exorbitant prices they are selling these golden treasures for, knowing that mine cost only a fraction. Looking forward to indulge in a spot of gleeful hand rubbing and heavy gloating. Not to mention salivating like no gardener has ever salivated before! ;-)
Some other card carrying members of the tastyRus society are these lovely squashes, not forgetting my fruitfully wonderful woodland strawberries that are still going strong in October.
I do believe that I've mentioned the word plethora earlier in this post with regard to flowers but there is another plethora in the Bliss garden:
the white grapes I planted 2 years ago have been graping away with gay abandon, leaving me with more grapes than I can shake a stick at. Why one would desire to do such an eccentric thing is beyond me but then I wasn't the one from whom this weird saying originated.
Rest assured that no stick shaking was done here at Bliss but a lot of grape picking was. And eating!
It is entirely possible that after reading this post you feel the urgent need to leave a comment. Please do!Grapefully yours,
Yolanda Elizabet
copyright 2009 Y.E.W. Heuzen
21 comments:
Lovely pictures. I think I need more daisy type flowers to brighten up my garden at this time of year. Are you eating all the grapes or are you starting up a wine making business!
Fabulous basket of grapes Yolande and the strawberries look tempting. Your flower garden looks like a treat to walk around at the moment... i'd love to click my fingers and be there for a viewing them click and be home in OZ again!
cheerio,
S
What enjoyment you must have-gorgeous grasses, beautiful grapes, bounteous harvest, sun dappled flowers-I am envious!
YE, it's true that there is something compelling and beautiful about the light and last flowers of fall...perhaps, it's an archetype from our collective unconscious that is triggered. Your garden hums with life and beauty! I love the grape arbor with the wind chime; beauty and bounty! gail
You are so right about appreciating the garden even more this time of year. So sad it will be fading away so soon, but the Autumn colours and autumn harvests are spectacular!
They are the best, the warm days with sunshine at a time you didn't expect anything else than wet wet wet.
Impressive grape harvest, it looks so delicious.
Tyra
Yolanda, need I say that those grapes of yours make my mouth water... Such a huge harvest - and you grow them outside, in your garden, right? -Impressive!
Great shots to show us the beauty still abounding in your lovely garden, YE! The light is glowing and soft as it sits lower in the sky, warm but not baking us like muffins. Whatever is still in bloom is cherished for its days are numbered. We know what is coming. Ah, October. :-)
Frances
You aren't exaggerating, your garden and its bounty look glorious. I think we do appreciate the beauty of imperiled things more than the abudance of midsummer. Seeing your photos and your beautiful arrangement, I'm missing my Dahlias & Cosmos acutely.
Oooh... I am drooling over your grapes! But the photo that has captured my imagination is the white anemone. Between the slanting light and the pristine background of pebble and stepping stone, it's just a lovely little vignette. :)
your garden is magnificent and so bountiful. and your grapes...they make me want to reach out and try some. looking forward to read more garden posts. :)
Liebe Yolanda, ich gebe Dir absolut Recht. Auch diese Jahreszeit, besonders der Oktober hat etwas sehr Schönes. Auch ich liebe das Licht morgens und abends, vor allem im Garten. Aber auch auf dem Weg zur Arbeit, wenn die Sonne aufgeht und die Felder und Wiesen und die Silhuetten der Häuser so langsam in rotes Licht taucht. Du hast das absolut schön beschrieben.
Liebe Grüße
Birgit
Hi Yolanda....so many grapes...how about making your own wine??
I did not get any this year....and no apples on my old blenheim orange, very strange.
I love the light at this time of year, it is so soft and makes the garden look so different.
As you so rightly say global warming is here.....we have had a very warm October to date. It has rained today and I must say I enjoyed it......
Love your flower arrangements.....
You know, in your frantic effort to make sure nothing ever gets snatched or borrowed you've also made it impossible to open links, to among other things blogs on your link list, in a new tab or window. That is NOT cool. I really really get tired on amateur copyrighting gone haywire and count on me never coming back here again. /Eva
I had never heard of Physalis peruviana edulis before so I had to do some research to figure out what it was. I guess the common name is Cape Gooseberry, but I have never heard of it being used here. I read that the unripe fruits are poisonous. Is that true?
Aiyana
Oh how lovely, Yolanda! You've caught the beautiful light through those flowers perfectly. I wonder what the white flower is in the image above the gauras. And lovely bouquets you've gathered. Must be hard to stop looking at them when there's so much variety and colors and textures to admire.
Yolanda, how lucky you are enjoying a beautiful October, and the wonderful bounty of blooms and edibles. Those grapes look absolutely scrumptious!
You always have such a plentiful harvest. Those grapes look delicious
your comments about slanting light are inspirational! love the grapes. maybe i should plant some? you always offer so much to think about!
A lovely post, as usual :) Loved looking at all your photos.
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