Todays Visitors.............

I am linking this to Mosaic Monday.
http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/





A few of todays visitors..............



Then the cat got out and was reluctant to come in......until it began to rain. She is an inside cat so was very not happy.



She cried "Uncle" and came in............the birds were ignoring her so I am sure she was quite humiliated. This picture taken right under the feeder they were visiting.

Survivors................

A few things come into their own in the Autumn and try their best to liven up the garden with a lovely show. I appreciate that very much. I have yet to buy some Icicle pansies but they really are a good investment and will show some here later. They will bloom right up to snow, they love the cool weather.
Meanwhile my archway is filling out and looking quite nice. Next year it must be replaced so that the weight of all these flowers does not break it down.






Sedum, two different colours. The tiny flowers are so pretty. I will have to get some more of those because they do bloom in the Fall and are so pretty up close They also come in other colours. I prefer the ones that grow closer to the ground because these tend to fall over. Still
at this point I don't really care. Just some pretty colour is the main thing.


I have been having more success with Asters the last few years. The ones that I already had have established themselves and are now thriving. With that in mind I put in a few more this year. I love this colour.


White will always brighten things up and these Asters have been blooming for a couple of weeks now.



Looking good and getting better, more Asters



The honey bees were very busy more than I have seen all summer, maybe it was too hot before and they are making up for lost time

Autumn Gold.....

Autumn days russet and gold
winters breath blowing cold
puffy clouds float in blue sky
leaves all colours pile up high
sunny days so crisp and cool
replace the heat beside the pool
walks in woodlands now become
a pleasure for most everyone
birds and beasts all do prepare
for what comes so soon to their
woodland homes and place of rest
the birds prepare a winters nest.
the bear prepares their winter homes
to sleep till Springtime once more comes
back again and life renews
and forests wear such different hews.
Life again is fresh and young
Springtimes here for everyone.
JKS Sept 2011







Mums in such a pretty colour



So many berries on the trees and shrubs this year, does that mean a hard winter is on the way?

Memories.....

Some of the flowers that I love are because they bring back great memories. Mainly childhood memories of England. You will find that I talk about England all the time, it will forever be a part of who I am.
These orchids in the picture are the Pink and the Yellow Ladyslipper, it is found in the woods here in Michigan. The other one is the Bee Orchid. Its quite rare and it's home is England. When I was a child there was a disused chalk pit that us kids played down. It was called The Blue Waters. There were Sticklebacks in small streams that came out of the chalk sides of the pit. It was closed up when they hit an underground stream and flooded the floor of the pit. Well, it became a great place for wildlife and for kids. When we were children we were close to nature, I knew the names of the flowers and trees and the animals around me. This little beauty, the Bee Orchid grew there. I knew not to pick it because it was rare. Along with quaking grass that for some reason fascinated me we would hunt for them in season. The Blue Waters was filled in with garbage. Now it is a nature trail so at least they have rectified the deed somewhat. What about those pure streams, the fishes, the flowers? Did anyone do a study or give it a thought before garbage was dumped there?



Cowslips, violets and bluebells. Flowers I would gather for my mum from the woodlands and fields.



White violets are quite rare. There was a spot that I knew they grew in the Baulk. When mum died and my husband and I went for a walk there I pointed to a small stream and said "we used to pick white violets over there" he replied "How on earth could you possibly know where they were after all these years" (probably a good 50 years..............so I went over through the trees and low and behold right where I said they were we found white violets growing on the banks of the stream. Took me back all those years and made my day. Flowers are special, they evoke memories and people and bring smiles to the heart.

The honey bee.............

The honey bee is in danger. We must really try to do all we can to save them. In England they have set aside land as a bee sanctuary. It is full of wild flowers and left to nature so that the bee population can thrive. We can do our part by making sure that our gardens are safe from pesticides and things that may harm them. The last several years we have had bees nests around the house. We had a bumble family in the blocks of the basement. They kept getting into the house, they must have thrived quite well because we put most of them back outside and eventually got it fixed so they could not get in. Then we had honey bees under the siding and a hornets nest over the front porch. Now I know most people would have knocked out the hornets but as we didn't even see them until the Fall and no one had been bothered by them, we left them alone as well. Why destroy things just because they might do something? I try to leave things alone if at all possible.
This is a happy little bee at my neighbour Phil's house getting the last of the goodness from the flowers. Not a lot left and I am sure they will soon be off settling in for the winter somewhere warm.




Asters or Michaelmas Daisies, now open for business

Pretty

Butterflys...................

Where are the butterfly's? I usually have a host of visitors during the Spring and summer months. This year I have only seen one in my garden. A white one, well actually I did see another one the other day passing through. I could not get a picture because it was on a pine tree checking out some berries that were growing on the vine on it. So what happened? Was it because it was so hot? I have planted milkweeds.



I dug some out of the side of a road where they would have been cut down, I did that to try to have them spread around here so that the Monarch has something to eat and lay its eggs on. No luck so far but at least the milkweed is getting established.
Any other year and we see loads of Monarchs. I have put in Butterfly plants in orange and yellow




Also last year I put in a butterfly bush even though I don't really like them. Now I think I need to move the darn thing. Its doing well but its just not in a good spot for me. They are so untidy. Next Spring I will move it.



So we have plenty of really bright flowers and stuff to attract the butterfly's if they fly over but they just have not paid a visit yet. I thought maybe when it cooled down some they would come. Too late now all those flowers are gone.
Maybe next year. I wanted to take lots of pretty pictures but alas...........none this time. I prefer to show my own pictures so have at least got the pictures of flowers.

Seedtime and Harvest

I was wandering around the garden today, so sad to see things changing but I am so happy for the cooler weather. Some of the flowers are already in seed. I will leave them for the birds. I should take a few to plant next year but the birds will need them more than I will.
This one is so beautiful I just had to take some pictures.These are so beautiful. They were beautiful flowers too. I don't know the name but will post it as soon as I do.




This is the flower and the seeds are just as lovely.



Then we have the Bee Balm, it's also amazing and will be left for the birds.




Such a lovely flower, it really livens up the garden and it spreads. I love that.




Even the trees have great seeds. These can become rather a pain but right now they are beautiful.



The Day lily has an interesting seed pod


The money plant........how sweet is that. Wish it really was coinage.




This little beauty is the pod from the Clematis vine. Isnt she pretty?

English Robins.........

Of all the lovely English birds I miss the Robin the most. Has everyone seen "The Secret Garden"?
Its a beautiful movie and if you have not seen it then you have missed something lovely. Especially if you love gardens.
Well the Robin is a friendly and cheeky bird. Sassy and cute he will befriend a gardener and hang out with him while he is digging in hopes of a worm or grub. A gardeners friend.

The Robin has long decorated Christmas cards. Even here in the States I often see English Robins on cards. The American Robin is a big lanky thing and would be a beautiful bird if it was not a Robin. There is only one cute Robin and that is not it. So when you see this chipper little bird on a Christmas card, just know that is a real English Robin

Cardinal Family......................

I am linking this to mosaic monday

For several years now we have had success with the Cardinal population. Prior to that it seems a certain black and white cat was responsible for eating a great many of them. So say my neighbours. Those same neighbours were loading up their beebee guns. Well that said cat started to hang out in my garden. We had no clue who she belonged to and she was scrawny and pregnant. We fed her, not a good way of making her move on. I didn't want her having kittens under my deck so with my granddaughter begging me and making lots of promises I took her in. We had her spayed, I asked the vet how he felt about that first as she was not far along. He said better now than to have to destroy kittens later and so we made that horrible choice. The cat came to live with us (her name is Boots) and the Cardinals thrived.





This is another collage of flowers and bees doing their work. Fall will be here soon. We need to keep these little critters happy, the bees do not have it so good these days. Honey bees are getting to be rare. We need to do our part and not use pesticides or anything that will harm them. Life is a circle and what effects one beast will effect us all.




This next collage is all about berries. Berries in your garden will bring in the birds for winter feeding. It helps those who migrate and those who stay. I have allowed the berries of the deadly nigtshade to flourish because the birds love them. Just keep your kids away, they really are deadly.

Garlic Chives.............

I love this flower. All my chives have purple flowers and this one has only just bloomed. It is so pretty. It's a perennial and I so hope it will survive. This is it's second year and I don't believe it bloomed last year. Anyway. I just had to show everyone this beauty.



I have several bunches of regular chives throughout the garden because I love the flowers. Its about the only herb I remember to gather too. Love them on baked potatoes with butter and sour cream/



Next year I am going to get some more of those Garlic chives for sure. Apparently you can use the flowers and they would look great in a green salad.

The Autumn
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning



Go, sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them --
The summer flowers depart --
Sit still -- as all transform'd to stone,
Except your musing heart.

How there you sat in summer-time,
May yet be in your mind;
And how you heard the green woods sing
Beneath the freshening wind.
Though the same wind now blows around,
You would its blast recall;
For every breath that stirs the trees,
Doth cause a leaf to fall

Fish Pond.

We really enjoy the small pond that we have in the back garden. Its a challenge though. We started 3 years ago. The first winter we brought in all surviving fish and put them in a big tank. They did very well and grew over the winter. Come Spring they went back outside and did well all summer. Then we had a visitor and fish kept disappearing. We had a couple of misshaps with the pump. That's a long story but to make it short we unintentionally emptied the pond a couple of times. Lucky the fish had an inch or so and survived. All those fish had names so we were not happy to loose anyone. That winter we left them in the pond. Got a water heater that would just stop it from freezing to the bottom. The fish made it through with flying colours. Then just as we thought we had it all down pat, someone ate the fish. My fish that had names. I was really pissed off. So now we were down to just a couple, I bought more fish. They all died. Bought more and they died. Then we realized that the water has floride in it and I had forgotten to put in the stuff that neutralizes it. This year we have two fish left. They are happy fish and are doing very well. We have made hiding places in the pond for them, they can get away from cats or racoons that may fancy a snack.

These are the two survivors.



These two have grown over this summer and should be able to make it through the winter OK. If they do survive this winter they will just get bigger. I wont get them any new fish because I dont want to introduce any disease. I want to try to keep them healthy.



The pond is 3' in the middle but not too big around. Bigger than it look here though.

My Poodles.

I can't do a post on my garden without showing my girls. Currently I have 4 poodles and I will introduce them to you here.







This is in way of explaining the state of my grass.............these girls really do a number on it.