On The Brink of October

This morning I trained my camera on the garden from various vantage points

beginning with our en suite bathroom window.

From the patio can be seen, against the kitchen wall, some of the glorious zinnias that Jackie grew from seed and spread abundantly around the beds;

and this corner of the Pond Bed sporting Delta’s Sarah fuchsia, geraniums, petunias, and the ubiquitous erigeron;

this side of the Chilean lantern Bed, with its begonias, Japanese anemones, and dahlias lies alongside

the Gazebo Path, dappled by a sunny interval, as was

the owl and Mrs Popple fuchsia in the Cryptomeria Bed,

and the Weeping Birch bed with its well out of season kniphofias, and further fuchsias.

Shadows were cast across the Brick Path and its flanking flowers.

Finally I focussed on the prolific varieties of bloom around the Wisteria Arbour. These are our colours on the brink of October.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie, firm broccoli and cauliflower, crunchy carrots, tender cabbage, and meaty gravy with which the Culinary Queen drank Hogaarden, I drank Comté Tolosan Rouge, and Flo and Dillon abstained.

74 comments

  1. What fun seeing your lush garden from different vantage points. The overhead shots give a whole new and interesting view. October is close, and today we really felt the touch of fall in the air. A jaunt outside required an additional log sleeve shirt under the jacket.

  2. Wow, guys, your garden is always crazy beautiful! I looked up Cottage Pie, I would so love to try Jackie’s Cottage Pie! 🇬🇧❤️🇬🇧

  3. Beautiful! 🙂 Almost October! 😮
    I always love seeing your garden from above! What a view! 🙂
    You know I love seeing any of your owls! Also, so nice to see Mrs. Popple! 🙂
    And the sun and shadows creating artistic-ness while playing a game of tag…so cool! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) ❤️

  4. Your autumn garden is looking superb, dappled in sunshine Derrick, … no such luck here, the sky is completely grey, and that is the way it shall stay for the rest of the day …

  5. When I think “English cottage garden”, an image much like your photos comes to mind! Bravo! All you need now is a garden cat to make the image whole, but then, I am biased in favor of cats.

      1. That qualifies as a garden cat! Where I used to live and before I had cats of my own, the veterinarian across the street had two cats, a grey tabby (Woodie) and a calico (Callie), brother and sister cats. Woodie used to pretty much live on our covered patio, which had lots of potted flowers and other attractions -bird feeders…! Though I discouraged bird predation, I enjoyed Woodie’s visits and Callie’s when Woodie let her visit “his” patio. These kitties were so charming I grew to feel they were a needed part of my garden, along with butterflies, bees, ladybugs, birds, herbs for the kitchen, and flowers to encourage beneficial species to stop by. I look at the photos of your garden and see you have a wonderful habitat for man and beast!

  6. It is good to see a different perspective of your garden – it gives us an idea of what a lot of work that must go into keeping it looking so attractive.

  7. The views from above are always my favorites. They show how big and beautiful your garden is. I can imagine you waking up and surveying the grandness of your treasures. I also like the gazebo path and the owl. I must get an owl and a dragon for my urban forest.

  8. Almost October and it still looks so beautiful in the garden!

    I can’t remember if you and Jackie had another pair of robins nesting there this year. I still remember Nugget.

  9. While most areas are seeing the loss of summer growth and beautiful, the Master Gardener’s expertise shows through here!

  10. A glorious start to a glorious month. September/October are some of my favorite months here in Oregon. So very glad summer is finally over. I was lucky to spend most of it in Sweden this year, but I hear it was brutally hot and dry over here. Glad I missed it!

  11. “On the Brink of October” is a compelling title that I could not resist. That’s exactly where we are. It feels so here, as well. After all the rain rain rain in the early summer, we are having a nice, warm and dry Autumn. It is chilly at night and I can wear a T-shirt and sandals in the day. Perfect. Your garden is perfect in these photos. The zinnias are indeed glorious and I appreciate the fuchsias as well. Your garden is well populated with a variety of textures and heights and shades of green – the zinnias pop up and the fuchsias drop down. I just love that. Your kniphofias are indeed late, what a delight. Can you believe I have a single lilac cluster blooming right now – performing the same feat of tardy display? Every time I pass it I have to breathe it in and remember springtime.

  12. THose overhead shot always delight me, Derrick. YOur garden is a delight most of the year, isn’t it? I’ve just harvested the potatoes and garlic and have given up on the green tomatoes ripening before frost – so I pulled up the tomatoes too. The peppers are still producing. Mums and the annuals are lovely but the rest of the flowers are giving up for the season. xo

  13. Derrick and Jackie, I’m so far behind with reading that I’m going to just ditch a few posts…life has just become busier – maybe because it’s Spring.

    1. More or less – one winter flowering clematis comes to mind – also, some bidens, pelargoniums, fuchsias, and cyclamen seem to go on and on. Thanks very much, Pat.

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