Tangled Brush

Snow has come to Ottawa, and cold weather aplenty. Oh well, I knew it wouldn't stay at +1 forever... So now, how about some visual interest from the snow-capped foliage? I've got it a-plenty! Coreopsis, which my neighbour kindly gave me. Autumn joy (sedum), that another kind neighbour gave me. But doesn't it look like large, alien mushrooms?? I took a winter walk with the family  this weekend (trying to avoid the usual Sunday morning squabbles). It was glorious!!  Serviceberry (I have a smaller one in my backyard!) Brambles and goldenrod Obligatory holiday pic of pinecones covered in snow. Asters The trail.

It was hard to believe our protracted autumn could ever end. I was so enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. I was late planting bulbs last year, so this year I planted them early, in October. Alas, due to the warm weather, they sprouted! Sigh. Let's see what happens in the spring... But the signs of impending autumn were all around. The tree shed its leaves...  The leggy chrysanthemum finally bloomed (a holdover from last autumn that survived the winter!) And the flame tree (or whatever it's called) finally stopped moping, and sprang into action with some red foliage, like the rest of its buddies in the neighborhood had already done some weeks previously. Some people speak of "putting the garden to bed in autumn" by hacking down all the foliage and leaving the beds bare. Prevents bugs from overwintering,  and less cleanup to do in spring. Others say to leave everything be! Most bugs are beneficial to the garden, plants can use the extra ...

The garden was quite beautiful, even up until November. That pleased me so much as the Hindu festival Diwali was in late October, and I was able to pick flowers, a vivid explosion of colours! The sunflowers also still had a great deal of charm - lumbering soldiers whose day was waning (if I may be permitted to mix my metaphors).