Changing seasons

We had our first flurry of snow on Saturday, and the clocks went back on Sunday morning, so I think we have to admit that Autumn is inexorably giving way to Winter. I think our seasons have "slipped" a bit in recent years. We often get what I think of as "September weather" in October / November these days, and Spring seems to start later too.

Right now the colour on some of the trees and shrubs is at its best, like this Blueberry bush, whose leaves are a real fiery red this year. Often they are a more muted "Burgundy" sort of colour.


Blueberry

 Blueberries are particularly rewarding plants to grow, because they give you wonderful Autumn foliage as well as delicious Summer fruits. They respond well to being kept in pots, so they are suitable for even the smallest of gardens.


Blueberry

 If you follow my blog regularly you won't need reminding that I love the Dogwoods too. In the Autumn they provide wonderful colour not only in their leaves, like this

Dogwood

But also in their snowy-white berries, like this

Dogwood

and then when the leaves and berries have fallen, you end up with stems in various shades of red, yellow and orange, like this:


Dogwood

 The Cotinus is shedding leaves rapidly:


Cotinus

 

Cotinus

Cotinus


You also know that one of my favourite photo subjects is "raindrops on leaves", don't you? Well, I've had plenty of opportunities for such shots recently, so here are a few examples:

Asparagus

Cotinus

Broccoli



Cavolo Nero

Just had a rather unwelcome thought: our Bronze Maple tree is shedding its leaves in profusion, which means I have the task of raking them up and disposing of them. Not something I enjoy. I have one of my plastic compost bins devoted to making Leaf Mould from those Maple leaves, but they do take a very long time to decompose, and even when they do the result is only useful as a mulch or soil-lightener because it doesn't contain much in the way of nutrients.