I went out with the camera this morning and took the best river shots and maybe I'll post them later, but here are some photos from the waning gardens.

'Peach Drift' rose and a Japanese maple.

A volunteer Lobelia in front of a Clematis vine

Chrysanthemum 'Country Girl' that I got from Carl (thanks!)

Aster 'Rayden's Favorite' (also from Carl) behind Monkshood

A small Lychnis 'Rose Campion' .....looking very sculptural

Molie, you still have many more flowers than I do. I particularly like the combination of the aster with the monkshood. Susan, your foliage is still lovely and bright. Are the yellows in the last photo maples? The red oak behind the farm equipment is a particularly lovely color.

At home we are in the very final stages of color, though my commute to work Friday was still quite bright. (I'll post them on the October page when I can.)

The late afternoon sun really highlights what color is left around the field, largely aspen, beech, and oak, though the colors of the last two are fading to various shades of brown relatively quickly now.

Aspen

Oak

I actually love the waning colors of this season... when the reds turn to oranges and golds and the grey of bare tree trunks and branches stand against them. Susan, I especially liked your last photo of the tree line and NHBabs' Aspens hit by the sun. In our road trip to Vermont last Fall, we saw more oranges and yellows, which was fine with me.

Here are two shots of the same trees along our river. I am a big fan of gray skies and gray winter tree trunks. Plus, this is the time of year when the greens of the firs, etc, stand out as "colors" instead of backgrounds.

Distance shot of all my favorite colors

Zooming in to the fluffy greens and grays

Molie/Merla: You still have a flower garden, and a pretty one too! It's startling to see the lovely fall colors of the trees juxtaposed with the floral colors.

Susan and NHBabs: Your pictures show how fall becomes a celebration of trees, and the understory (AKA garden) takes a minor role.

About the only true fall color we have here so far is from the staghorn sumacs that sneak into any cleared space.

These are across the street. I've been letting them grow there hoping they would turn good color and they're obliging.

My big old osmanthus is blooming and I've been struggling to find a way to do it justice with the camera. It just doesn't read well at a distance. Picture a 12 foot (at least) shrub covered with little white flowers, and all this next to the big old winterberry (which also doesn't read well until the leaves fall off).

The branches are covered with Mother Nature's tinsel, AKA pine needles.

Pokeberry is fruiting:

Two of my blue hollies, (I think Ilex m. 'Blue Princess' but I'm not sure), have a number of flowers that look like they've been pollinated and intend to form berries. I have no idea what male holly could have pollinated them this late.

These hollies had a huge tree limb fall on them two winters ago and then this was a strange droughty summer so maybe they're just adapting to unfortunate circumstances.

One of the two hollies had a round of berries already.

I think Houzz has put a limit on the number of photos in posts so I'll continue in another post.

Claire

I just wanted to add the winterberry, still with leaves, to try to give an idea of size.

And Ilex opaca 'Goldie' is working on coloring its berries. They'll get deeper yellow later on.

Claire

Fantastic, Claire! That's just what I like to see when I look for Fall here in New England. In the Spring and Summer we're bombarded with bright colors and new growths. Then in the Fall and Winter as plants go to sleep, we're lucky to have bright white snows against the remaining greens, grays and browns. Those of you up north are lucky to have woods and trails to explore in the winter. It's a quiet time in the garden, but also a time of beauty.

Claire, I'm with you on the sumac. We let a volunteer clump grow off the end of the big shrub bed at DH's shop, and it is a lovely red/orange/gold mix every fall. Yours are a beautiful color as well. Your various hollies are quite lovely as well, and I really wish I could grow that Osmanthus.

We still have some things that are enjoying these warm November days...

Japanese Maple in the afternoon glow

Roses - the orange & red were here when we moved in, the pink is Pink Peace

Foxgloves that won't quit

Cherry tree w/ my little garden helper

Wildflowers my girls planted

Tiny lilac that blooms in fall and spring - anyone know what this is, as it was here when we moved in?

Today was just a spectacular day...there were kids SWIMMING in the ocean here!

suzabanana, so nice to see more flowers! I especially like that orange rose - are any of them scented? If you want the lilac ID'd, perhaps you can post a photo of the whole shrub? There are repeat blooming lilacs such as Josee and Bloomerang.

I lived in Woods Hole one fall, and we went swimming in late November. It was wonderful having such a long fall.

Yes, all my roses are fragrant. I actually got rid of a few that were not because I had no use for them if they weren't fragrant. I know I will not be an expert rose gardener anytime soon, so unless they reward me with fragrance I won't keep them!

Lovely, suzabanana - I'm amazed at the foxgloves still blooming and the kids still swimming! I can see swimming in Woods Hole with the Gulf Stream still warm, but the Gulf of Maine shouldn't be warm now.

Scraping out a few last flower photos:

Aster 'Fanny' with sedum and a more subdued and less cluttered landscape. Pine needles really cover up the leaf clutter.

'Blushing Knockout' rose with fall-colored sumac as a backdrop.

And I'm obsessed with trying to show what the osmanthus flowers look like en masse since I haven't been able to photograph the whole shrub and have it look like reality.

Claire

I really like the video of your osmanthus blossoms, Claire, so much indeed that I looked it up. I wonder if it would grow here. If it can grow in the Himalayas, maybe it could survive in Northern New England.

Love your roses, Suzabana!

spedigrees: Everything I've read about the Osmanthus heterophyllus says that the coldest zone it will survive in is zone 6, and that's just some cultivars; most are zone 7. Southern New England seems to be the limit for cold hardiness.

I just checked the Climate of the Himalayas since the fact that osmanthus grows in the Himalayas really surprised me. I've always thought of the Himalayas as being viciously cold in the winter but it turns out that the southern foothills have a benign climate.

"The average summer temperature in the southern foothills is about 30
degree Celsius and the average winter temperature is around 18 degree
Celsius."

I suspect that's where the osmanthus is found, not in the cold, cold uplands.

I always look longingly at the Osmanthus fragrans when Logee's offers it, but I don't think I can grow it outside here and I don't have a suitable place to overwinter it indoors.

Claire

Those of us in the colder zones have to enjoy our Osmanthus vicariously, so I really appreciate your posting of the photos and videos of your plants, Claire. I looked it up when you first posted photos of your variegated one, and was disappointed to find out that it wouldn't grow here.

Ah well I might have known! My sweet olives have gone the way of the crape myrtles.

Camellia "Snow Flurry" is at peak now. The mild weather has allowed many
buds to bloom and many more waiting. Sometimes early cold causes
browning of flowers and buds, and some don't get to open, but this year
that's not the case at all.

When parsley is happy. . .

Not sure if this "Scintillation", but it blooms Spring and Fall.

Jane (a new parsley farmer )

Parsley will do that! My arugula does the same and shows up in cracks in the driveway. Better than dandelions!

Almost all the fall color at home is gone now, though a few of the large shrubs still have a bit of color. I did find a few things to take photos of over the last couple of days.

Mushrooms growing on a stump in the side yard.

This is the first time I remember seeing this Aronia turn such nice colors. I think it may need a longer fall than we often get.

On the other hand, the Amsonia hubrichtii went from yellow-green to yellow-tan without the brilliant gold it often gets. I still love the texture it brings to this bed all season and into the fall. I usually don't cut it back until early spring since it retains the feathery stems in reasonable shape until the first snow.

I found a few scattered flowers around: some clumps of fall crocus that the voles haven't eaten yet will open more on sunny days.

A big clump of rusty orange mums is just starting to fade

Veronica 'Georgia Blue' always throws a sprinkling of flowers about now.

One lone flower on a Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue'.

Not much in the way of flowers here except for the old faithful Blushing Knockout rose.

Most of the roses have gone to hips now. This is the native Carolina rose which takes over if you turn your back but has pretty single flowers.

Carefree Beauty rose has hips conveniently placed next to Ilex opaca 'Goldy' with its yellow berries.

Sweet Autumn Clematis seedheads are pretty, and hinting that I'll have even more volunteers next year.

And the white wood aster seedheads are everywhere. That aster spreads with abandon - a large portion of my yard has these white fluffy marshmallows scattered throughout. Luckily I like the flowers, particularly when they bloom with the goldenrod.

Like NHBabs I have mushrooms.

And also lichens on the old black cherries across the street.

The variegated hydrangea foliage looks like mid-season, which is probably a sign of why it struggles in the winter here. The hydrangea doesn't seem to realize that it's supposed to be shutting down now. Last winter it was in a more exposed spot and I protected it until I could move it this spring to a better location. I'll protect it again this winter but I really wish it would drop its leaves so I'm not enclosing mushy foliage in the cover. Every once in a while, after a mild winter, it blooms with lovely blue lacecaps.

Not much fall foliage color here, but lots of leaves to compost.

Claire

Nice photos, Claire. Roses now?! Amazing.

I couldn't help but notice the sign . . . is that a turkey crossing sign?

NHBabs: I think I posted these before in 2011, but I'm happy to repeat. I happened to look out just in time to see a flock crossing the road, regrouping, and then marching single file past the sign. They roost over there in the woods.

Claire

edit note: These photos were taken on December 26, 2011, so they really belong in next month's thread, although the woods look pretty much the same now.

I forgot to post a picture of the sign, which was NHBab's question. That's my compost pile on the upper left.

I bought the sign at Amazon.com.

Claire

In praise of fall blueberries . . . I pass this marsh on my commute (rte 4 Northwood, NH), and it's one of the highlights of a drive that is scenic year-round.

At this time of year the foliage is often backlit as I drive by, and it has a bunch of wild blueberries that turn gorgeous shades of red and orange, enhanced by the lighting. There are lowbush that tend to be in drifts, here with little bluestem grass that has gone to seed.

There are also highbush shrubs, both along the edge of the marsh

and along the edge of the lake across the road.

They keep this color for weeks, only just now fading after most of a month in various shades of red. When this amazing foliage is added to the spring flowers and summer fruits (including their value to wildlife) and often colorful winter twigs, the invasive burning bush doesn't hold a candle IMO.

What a lovely way to spend a commute, NHBabs! Much better than staring out a subway or bus window in NYC, as I used to. Although at various times I would ride my bike to work and had some great views from the Brooklyn and/or Queensboro Bridge.

The aster 'Fanny' is winding up but there are still some fresh, unpollinated flowers open (the centers are yellow before the insects wipe off the pollen). I wonder if this is because the bees are mostly gone as it gets colder.

The seedheads of Sedum 'Matrona' are dark brown now.

Rose 'Carefree Delight' has two, yes two, flowers on it.

And hydrangea 'Blue Billow' is still pretty as it gets ready for winter.

I checked Blue Billow because I wanted to see the difference between a hydrangea that's relatively cold-hardy (Blue Billow) and the variegated hydrangea that's still stuck in mid-season foliage.

Nights are sometimes hovering around freezing now and I've decided to start protecting the variegated hydrangea before it gets too cold. I put a cage around it and today I poured some dry leaves into the bottom, leaving the foliage open to the sun. Later on I'll add more leaves and cover it with a shrub cover.

Maybe I should show it pictures of Blue Billow (this is what a sensible hydrangea does when winter approaches).

Claire

Claire, it looks as though your area has not had a hard frost...is that so?

That is so, Jane. We had one morning where there was a bit of ice on one birdbath, but nothing close to a hard frost. Leaves are falling happily, but some trees (like the crabapple I want to transplant when it's dormant) still flaunt them green.

Last night was at first supposed to go down to freezing but it finked out after the forecasters kept revising the temperature. This is what I'm looking at now - Weather Underground forecast for Cedarville, MA.

I have no desire to get the snow shovels out and I still haven't seen a junco (snowbird).

Claire

Yesterday afternoon I was out planting in the garden when I straightened up and saw this:

NHBabs, quite a sunset last night. I took this one after I saw an intense red glow coming through the windows. It was nearly dark by then. I grabbed my camera and ran outside. It almost looked like a forest fire.

Susan

Took these today. It's been mild so far, but somehow I am guessing that things will be very different in a month or two......

The little red mums come back year after year, but the daffodils sprouting surprised me. The large-pad prickly pear cactus is loaded with fruit now. The pads are 10 inches long and the fruits are about 5. There are two photos of my yellow Knockout rose, still with a few flowers and one shows the hips. The foliage of the oak-leaf hydrangea is always a great color in fall. The last one is a mum that I've had for years. It blooms early, thrives on neglect, and best of all has a very large flower for a hardy mum, about 4-5 inches in diameter. Not shown are my camellia Snow Flurry (but posted in another post here) and the lavender, still going string, and a few flowers on my ice plants (delosperma).

Took these today. It's been mild so far, but somehow I am guessing that things will be very different in a month or two......

The little red mums come back year after year, but the daffodils sprouting surprised me. The large-pad prickly pear cactus is loaded with fruit now. The pads are 10 inches long and the fruits are about 5. There are two photos of my yellow Knockout rose, still with a few flowers and one shows the hips. The foliage of the oak-leaf hydrangea is always a great color in fall. The last one is a mum that I've had for years. It blooms early, thrives on neglect, and best of all has a very large flower for a hardy mum, about 4-5 inches in diameter. Not shown are my camellia Snow Flurry (but posted in another post here) and the lavender, still going string, and a few flowers on my ice plants (delosperma).

A cascading fragrant Proven Winners white alyssum is still blooming next to the house and it's all from seed that dropped from the hanging baskets last year. Guess I'm not going to have to buy a pot anymore. My mayflower viburnum seems to be budded up. A few pansies and violas are still blooming. Got some bargain spring bulbs planted. Need to put new batteries in the camera.

Bill, what a symphony of red and gold! I love that since we as a group cover a range of zones there is so much variety in the gardens. You, Claire, and the other warmer folks are still in the growing season, but up in the frozen north things are just about finished.

Defrost, even my Alyssum and the perennial geraniums have given up the ghost. The last mum (photo farther up) is fading and all the leaves are down except a few brown ones on the trees and a few on shrubs, but my Major Wheeler honeysuckle is still pushing a few blooms in its sheltered spot between the south-facing house and the ell. The Major has not been without at least a few blooms since some time in May.

Sunrise this morning was colorful, though a bit frosty.

Nothing like Thursday morning when it reached 16 degrees and the wet spot that was created to water the dairy cattle 60+ years ago was frozen. Winter is approaching.

Frost on wintergreen along the road.

and another amazing sunset.

Continuing in the tradition inspired by NHBabs' lovely sunrises and sunsets:

This morning the sunrise was beautiful, especially because it happened at low tide with the sandbars and rocks exposed.

The colors are much more in the peachy range than NHBab's pics which are much rosier. I wonder if reflections of the water affect that, or something else.

Claire

Claire - I think that the colors usually reflect type and quantity of particulate matter in the atmosphere. For instance, when there were all the forest fires out west this summer, sunsets in CO and MN were quite red. Last night our sunset was similar to in tone your sunrise, though less colorful - just a skim of peachy pink on the undersides of purple clouds. Today has been gray and rainy all day, but I am glad that the soil in the buckets by the mail box aren't frozen. I will probably cut birch and evergreens for them if it gets dry enough to do so.