Autumn Light

Posted on October 22, 2017 by composerinthegarden

I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks

As our world spins on its tilted axis through October, every morning becomes a wonderment of autumn light. Golden rays slant through the trees at sharp angles, throwing shadows and highlights that transform the familiar into the magical. reflectingpool

After a hot dry September and a warm early October, the trees are still green and just beginning to turn colors. Lately, days of sunshine and blue skies have brought the feeling of a second summer to the garden even as copper oak leaves begin to drift down into the beds. The warm colors linger on in the coleus and coral bells, still thriving before first frost. (Click on any photo in the mosaic to see a larger image)

Heuchera and coleus

Astilbe ‘Chocolate Shogun’

Autumn colors on the ground

A few fall flowers carry on, greatly appreciated by the bees for a final feast before winter, while newly planted pansies should continue through the spring.

Rudbeckia triloba

Bidens ‘Painted Red’

Persicaria ‘Firetali’

Pansy

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face. ~John Donne

Some of the rose bushes are bearing hips, softened by the weather, while others continue to blossom in their final flush of color. Every day that a rose blooms in October seems like a precious gift.

Rose ‘Coral Carpet’

Rose hips of ‘Complicata’

Rose ‘At Last’

Rose ‘Double Knock Out’

Rose ‘Abraham Darby’

The late October sun rarely shines above the trees in the lower garden and so the garden changes in mood throughout the day as the light sifts through the woods. autumngarden

Sometimes it throws a spotlight on favorite spots or favorite plants.

Silver lungwort

Chair on the hilltop

Gaura lindheimeri

Sometimes it merely softens all of the colors into muted beauty.

softcircles

Step outside for a moment and enjoy the glories of a sunlit autumn day, the grand finale before winter arrives. soredereschtlight

Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale. ~Lauren DeStefano, Wither

The Air Wild with Leaves

Posted on November 23, 2016 by composerinthegarden

Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves ~Humbert Wolfe

Last week, a misty morning turned the garden into a place of magic and mystery.

The garden in mist

Bench in the mist

Through the maple leaves

The mulberry in mist

Mulberry tree over the fence

A few days later, a wild wind carried winter in its arms and spun the color from the trees into the air.

And then it snowed for two days.

Maple leaf in snow

Zelda contemplates winter

Chinese dogwood leaves

Bloodgood maple leaf in snow

Anise hyssop with snow

In spite of the recent snow and freezing temperatures, the garden still offers moments of beauty. In a world that seems to have gone mad, the garden remains a place for quiet reflection, solace for frayed emotions and restless thoughts. Everywhere I look, there is richness of texture, of color, of light sifting through the trees, mist flowing down the hills. As I step on carpets of fallen oak leaves rimmed with morning frost, the world seems alive and abundant. A family of deer sidle by the fence, the red-tailed hawk whistles its distinctive cry, chipmunks scuttle under the stone walls, bluejays and cardinals drink from the birdbath. A few roses linger next to the russet leaves of autumn shrubs, the carpets of Ajuga glow with their dark winter foliage. Until the snows come in earnest, the garden is a cornucopia of life.

At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth ~Rilke

autumngarden

For my American friends, I wish you a joyful Thanksgiving; to all my friends and readers, I wish you a cornucopia of abundance in your lives.

There is a lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity. And that lie is, “There’s not enough good to go around. There’s lack and there’s limitation and there’s just not enough.” The truth is that there’s more than enough good to go around. There is more than enough creative ideas. There is more than enough power. There is more than enough love. There’s more than enough joy. All of this begins to come through a mind that is aware of its own infinite nature. ~Michael Beckwith

Here’s a link to Jude’s November garden challenge on trees and leaves, worth a visit, especially if you like woodlands and Shakespeare.

Syzygy

Posted on November 16, 2016 by composerinthegarden

supermoonwp Tonight the sky was clear and yesterday’s supermoon reappeared in full glory – the earth, moon, and sun are all in a line, creating a syzygy. I had never heard this term before my student Ryan Bromley brought a composition to the electronic ensemble entitled Syzygy. The piece was a success and my husband liked it so much that he recorded it with Ryan for his Tribute CD.

Listen to the clip generously provided by Bill Purse while viewing a few images of the garden and woods in their autumn glory.

In celebration of autumn color and inspired by the work of nature artist Andy Goldsworthy, I assembled an ephemeral piece of leaf and flower. redleafmandala1

Now Autumn’s fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt. ~William Allingham

A New Season

Posted on November 1, 2015 by composerinthegarden

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Camus

Somehow, summer slipped by without me and now that I’ve returned to the garden, I find myself in a new season, deep in autumn’s glory. The oak and maple leaves are at their height of color, still clinging to their branches and rustling in the wind that brought November with it this morning. What a rich season filled with a touch of nostalgia for the flower-filled summer that was and a touch of sadness for the stark and cold winter to come.

I missed my garden this summer. Most of my attention was on a major renovation in the kitchen, followed by a nasty flood in the basement brought on by a series of torrential rains. Instead of a quiet summer tending the garden, I lived in a noisy dusty house answering dozens of questions a day from hard-working men who were there to make it beautiful and functional again. We are still putting the last few displaced items away but how wonderful it feels to return to the rake and the clippers and reclaim the last lovely days of the garden season.

In spite of months of construction chaos in the house, I stole a moment here and there to enjoy the garden and those memories inspire me as I weed and prune and prepare the garden for its long winter’s nap. The owls have been hooting in the early morning hours and the bluejays leave me a feather now and then as if to remind me that life goes on in all seasons.

My talented husband Bill Purse has graciously allowed me to include a track from his upcoming album Tribute, a piece called “New Seasons” that was composed by our friend Colter Harper (The CD will be released in December). Enjoy listening while you browse the garden photos that range from July to October! (All photos ©2015 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved).

Rose de Rescht and Phlox

Skipper in daylily

Plum daylilies

Daylly ‘Susan Weber’& Phlox

Rose and Persicaria ‘Firetails’

A flock of Phlox

Echinacea and Artemisia

October garden

Colors, Endless Colors

Posted on October 11, 2014 by composerinthegarden

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)