Autumn in leaves of gold,
springtime a thousand shades of green unfold to
summer with its joyous Joseph’s Coat of colors,
endless colors, endless colors.
~from the song “Winter” by Lynn Emberg Purse ©2009
Autumn has decidedly arrived. Wild windy storms brought rain, hail, mist and fog this past week; the green trees have begun to don their fall coats while their leaves are drifting into the garden paths and beds. The cool damp weather has intensified the colors of the garden and triggered new blossoms from many of the plants. A fuchsia rose here, a peach salvia there – scent and color hang heavy in the air. Yesterday morning, a thick fog turned pearly with the morning light and the world was wrapped in a glowing cloud. Slightly disheveled at the end of the growing season, the garden was nevertheless graced for a moment with endless colors. (Click on any photo in the montage to see a bigger image; All photos ©2014 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved)
I saw old Autumn in the misty morn stand shadowless like silence, listening to silence. ~Thomas Hood, English poet
composerinthegarden 
Your garden looks great this far into October, Lynn!
Thanks, Tracy – it’s starting to wind down but hopefully we won’t get a hard frost for another week.
Oh my… your garden is stunning in the fog. It’s stunning at any time (from what I’ve seen in photos), but in the fog it takes on a mystical, enchanting quality. The colors really stand out. The lyrics from your song are beautiful, too. 🙂
Robin, thank you for your kind comment. “mystical enchanting quality” is exactly how I saw the garden that morning; it was the “perfect storm” of mist and light for capturing the color. Thanks again..
There are some beautiful shots in this collection. Bravo, Lynn.
Thanks, Kerry!
Still a lot of green, but you have just enough of the other colors to make good variety in the collection. Personally, the mist provided a great setting … and you also captured one of my favorites – purple fountain grass.
Frank, we are just on the cusp of tree color – green but shifting to gold and burgundy. And I totally agree with you about purple fountain grass – I have it everywhere – in pots, in the ground. Love those soft flowers above the dramatic foliage 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers to your love of purple fountain grass. BTW … because of your importance of music in your life, my current post is a must read. http://afrankangle.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/on-an-extra-special-event/
You have made a wonderful job of presenting these flowers in a seasonal context.
Thank you, Tootlepedal! I love this time of year in the garden.
Bravo for your winsome winter song and its rendition.
Thank you for listening, Steve.
My pleasure, Lynn.
Thank you for a stroll through “real” Autumn. I walked among your flowers trying to name as many as I could just like I would on an actual walk. There was a candelabra nicatiana close to my work and I would go out of my way to see it, I even dreamed about it. Your image of it with the gate is breath taking and magical!
You are most welcome, Carol! The nicotiana was a volunteer and a welcome one – I always forget how big they are but plan to have more throughout that part of the garden. Its the only nicotiana that the deer don’t eat and it can really carry the garden into October.
Lovely…and listened to “Winter”…lovely again, and again.
Jots, thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to listen to “Winter” – that part of the song kept running through my head as I was photographing the garden and then provided the gist of the post. Glad that you enjoyed it!
I really love how you use the fog to bring out the subtle colours. Beautiful images, Lynn.
Thank you, Otto. Fog is like having a huge soft box in the sky – it makes for wonderful lighting conditions plus the garden loves the extra dampness and seems to glow. The best of all garden photography situations!
These photos are so gorgeous. This representation of your garden is the best you’ve done. How truly exquisite. . .and the mist in the background is so gothic. I hope you had a chance to really sit and meditate in it this summer. What a triumph!
Eleanor, thank you for your lovely comment! It was a beautiful morning and I was lucky to capture it. Poor Angel had to wait a bit for her breakfast though, while I was busy taking photos while the light lasted. Yes, I did spend the summer in the garden – working like crazy, which I actually found relaxing 🙂
Just gorgeous, Lynn. I especially love the limelight hydrangea and the sweet begonia…not to mention Angel, speaking of sweet! Thank you for the lovely tour.
Thanks, Kitty. Ah yes, sweet Angel – she is my constant companion 🙂
Beautiful colors, and I love the fog!
Thanks, Bernadette; fog is always a good photo opportunity.
Gorgeous, fall comes with such rich colours.
Thanks, Nature; I think we underestimate how beautiful fall can be.
Yes! You know I love the slightly disheveled look…and the fog, which is plentiful where I live, is something I’m growing to love more. I’m not sure if you’ve seen my most recent post – it’s an echo of this one – fog and soft color, but in the untended gardens just off shore.
I see spider webs on the dahlias – oh, those lingering roses, how sweet they are – and I envy you the scent of that tall nicki at the end, I really do. But happily, though I can’t get much that’s scented to grow on our little shady deck, I have the same pale pink begonia as you do, and oh is she gorgeous, and she keeps going!
Lynn, I thought of you when I was photographing the garden and knew that if I was to capture the light and fog, i couldn’t “clean up” the garden. So, I went with the flow and decided that a “bed head” garden in the right light was better than a groomed garden without that light “magic” – you were in my head at that moment of decision 🙂
Yes, lots of subtle (and not so subtle) spider webs this time of year. The begonia was a gift from a gardener who is starting a community garden – I gave her oodles of plants this summer and she gifted me with this begonia, which should be hardy here. It is certainly a “belle” in the garden right now.
The garden photos are so refreshing and so engaging. I love the lushness that you capture so well in your photos.
Thanks, Charlie. I think it is unexpected to have such lushness in the garden this time of year, yet there it is. An unexpected gift 🙂