Sunset taken yesterday just a few minutes after the photo above but facing the opposite direction.

Sunset taken this evening across the neighbor’s fields. Shortly before this the whole sky was filled with red clouds, but I couldn’t figure out a safe place to pull over to take a photo.

Not strictly a garden photo, but garden-related: I harvested honey from my beehive this past weekend. This should give me a way to remember all the summer flowers full of bees through the winter. Let’s see if I can post a couple photos. Here’s a frame before I slice the wax “cap” off the honey cells:

Sweet, nekobus (pun intended)!

Lovely sunsets, NHBabs! Your fall foliage is way ahead of us here in southeast MA. No visible sunsets the last few days and none expected for the next few either. The latest ocean storm is way underperforming the hype but is still a dreary presence.

Claire

The storm currently swirling off the coast stayed far enough away from my western CT garden but did produce a decent sunset last night.

Nekobus I'm in awe of those wwho take the time to tend bees. The honey must just be the icing on the cake.

I love the fountain, Sue. Does the pump recirculate from the bottom tier or does it have a reservoir below the base?

That's a very nice fountain, Sue. Does it stay out all winter or do you bring it inside? I bet the birds love it too.

I've been wanting to post some pictures since I have red berries all over the place now - winterberries, crabapples, kousas, cotoneasters, etc., and my big old osmanthus is blooming. Unfortunately I have a photo issue that has nothing to do with Houzz. I upgraded my MacOS to Catalina and now my Photos app won't open. It's probably going to take some fussing to get to the bottom of this so it may be a while before I can post pictures.

Claire

I was wondering what the difference is from the liquid honey and the solid raw honey that they sell in stores now?

Yes, love fountains and that is a very pretty one.

I have more berries this year too, Claire. nothing worth taking photos of right now, but look forward to yours when you are able.

Prairiemoon, I’m not an expert on this stuff, but my understanding is that commercial honey is generally pasteurized and super-filtered before being bottled. Heating honey (at low-ish temps) dissolves any crystals in it, so it stays liquid longer. If you’ve got crystals forming (chunky bits in your honey), you can soak it in a pan of hot water to liquify it again. So the pasteurized honey will stay liquid for a while.

Some sellers make “creamed” honey, where they intentionally encourage small crystals to form in controlled conditions throughout the honey for texture. I’m not sure what that process involves. And sometimes there’s cachet in “raw” unfiltered honey, or even eating honey-in-the-comb. Personally, I prefer eating honey without wax, and with all the little bits of bee wing, etc., filtered out :)

We have transitioned to buying raw honey that is solid, not liquid, I just hadn't taken the time to look up what process that goes through. I prefer it, but really, I've cut way back on honey for some reason. I still put a half teaspoon in a cup of tea, but I'm not really using it for much else.

I now have a partial work-around of my Photos issue. I still can't access my original photo library but I set up a second photo library and so far it's accepting and processing any new photos. So here goes:

The big old winterberry has red fruit and the big old osmanthus has white flowers next to it.

Not a great pic but it shows how big the winterberry is. It's much taller than the bird feeder and the grasses. It'll be more impressive when the leaves drop (before the birds get to the berries).

Crabapples have fruit:

and the Kousa dogwoods:

and the cotoneasters:

and the Carolina roses:

Not all fruits are red. The Japanese hollies have black berries.

and the Gray Owl junipers have green-gray berries.

I like the Gray Owl junipers with sedums:

The pokeberries are fruiting too.

I've reached the Houzz ten pictures limit so I'll start a new post for the rest of what I see.

Claire

Hydrangea Blue Billow foliage and flowers have turned pretty colors now:

and the rhododendron Ana Kruschka opened one bud:

Some of the Knockout roses are still blooming, in particular Blushing Knockout which always blooms late in the season. The miscanthus grasses are becoming showy, although they got blown around by the ocean storm.

Blushing Knockout:

And the aster Harrington's Pink is pretty.

Claire

You still have a nice range of flowers and berries, Claire. I am glad you worked out the photo issue!

Tonight’s sunset

This morning I looked out the front window to see a car stopped and a man getting out. He ended up standing in the middle of the road taking photos. This is what grabbed his attention.

A few more from around the yard

Claire, you have a cornucopia of berries there for the birds!

Ohhhhh . nice sunset! I also like photo #3 Babs - with all that natural underbrush under the trees.

I have a surprising number of flowers around the yard for a garden that has been almost entirely ignored for 2 full growing seasons.

I can’t remember the type of ornamental Allium this is, but it is a fibrous rooted perennial rather than a bulb. The white flowers are annual Nicotiana that are still perfuming the air at dusk every evening.

The Colchicum are fading, but they are one of my favorite bulbs. Though they are initially expensive per bulb, but each of these masses started out as three bulbs. In the first photo there are sedum ‘Angelina’ and Hosta leaves.

And here is a photo taken by my DH a few years ago of them in their prime rather than fading at the end of their season.

Some volunteer petunias which happily are color coordinated with the other plants in this area that are in this part of the thread. I haven’t had petunias in this area for at least 3 years, so they have either been selfseeding for a while or some work I did in the bed turned up the seeds.

Bees drowsing in the cosmos, also volunteers.

All those were in the front of the house, so here are a few from the back, side, and shop.

There are several cultivars of Helenium that are still blooming. These are an unnamed yellow (with a couple more drowsy bumble bees) but I also have a rusty red one and Mardi Gras, a mix of red and gold, and both also have flowers still.

I love the color and frost resistance of this late blooming monkshood/Aconitum (even if I do have to wear gloves due to its toxicity) which has nearby my favorite Spiraea ‘Ogon’, and another volunteer, this one a perennial aster that grows wild as well as anywhere in my garden it can get a foothold, along with a little corner of my Koufax dogwood in the back. Like Claire’s mine is full of fruit this year.

Foliage of my grandad’s peony, most likely Festiva Maxima.

And balloon flower/Platycodon foliage

Berries on my winterberry holly/Ilex verticillata.

PS it took me 4 hours to post 15 photos while watching tv this evening. I hate my internet connection, but there is nothing better available. I guess it is the price of living in a beautiful rural area.

I love Blue Billow, Claire. Mine grows in the crappiest conditions in my mailbox garden where no hose will reach and still looks great. I'm trying to add winterberries here both for seasonal interest and to provide material for outdoor holiday arrangements.

Sunsets have been fabulous here for the past week or so. The west side of our property is heavily wooded so we get the best ones when the trees are bare.

Babs your Allium may be 'Ozawa'. Mine are blooming now.

I was going to leave the fountain in my former garden but I ended up moving it because the buyers of my house did not want it. It's concrete and weighs hundreds of pounds. It's about 15 years old now and we have to fix small cracks in the lowest tier every spring. A recirculating pump is hidden in a compartment in the bottom tier. For the winter, we drain it and cover it to keep water out.

Still no frost here but I've been cutting things down and moving plants to get ahead of the curve.

You live in a great area for sunsets and leaf-peeping, NHBabs! I've never grown Colchicum but I should. Maybe next year.

Sometimes I think the garden would prefer to be neglected a little. After all, most of those plants evolved all by themselves and can grow happily that way, thank you very much. Our role is sometimes just to keep the invasives and the forest out of their way.

I can't imagine anyone not wanting that fountain, Sue. It was probably a real nuisance to move, but definitely worth it now.

Claire

Wow! These posts are just so beautiful. NHBabs, I love all of your fall color and sunset photos. Isn't this time of year just special? So many beautiful vistas both in your garden and in your area. It's a real treat to see. The raw honey looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing that. Sue, your fountain is indeed beautiful. That's a lovely dusk photo with the sunset behind. Claire, as always such wonderful diversity and all-season color in your yard. This is one of my favorite monthly photo threads so far.

And, lastly, NHBabs, we all appreciate your perseverance with photos, because we are the ones who benefit!

I have a few things happening. I do have some wild asters blooming in my n ew meadow area, which is coming along at almost a zero pace. No new plantings this year and all of last year's planting didn't survive, but the native asters look great, no photo.

My Raydon's favorite has been starting its bloom very very slowly for about a month. I had about two blooms for two weeks, then slowly more have come, and many more haven't opened. Thinking it has to do with my pruning schedule. Anyway, two of my Hillside Sheffield Pink mums survived the harsh winter after seemingly not emerging his spring, and one has come on strong with blooms. Finally! This week both bloomed enough to be "counted."

Beautyberry is starting to show a bare amount of berry color while the leaves turn.

Annuals are still blooming, and I love that. Feverfew, Verbena bonariensis, and calendula below still look good.

I deadheaded this Salvia transylvanica (may not be spelled correctly from memory) because it reseeds like a weed, and have been having sporadic rebloom. Though scant, it is welcome and motivates me to continue deadheading in future years.

I love love love my Mt. St. Helens azalea for its bloom tricolor, but this fantastic fall color makes it all the more desirable. Hoping to add more to the garden but they are very hard to find.

Sue, thanks for the Allium ID. I think it is a division from a friend, so I am not sure I ever knew what one it was specifically. This is the first season it has bloomed after being tucked in near the end of last season. I really like it.

Deanna, sorry to hear your new meadow is slow going. Wish I had some experience to share, but no. I do love meadows and I hope eventually it will work out for you.

You have a lot going on in your yard still. Lots for the pollinators. I'm not seeing many bees now. I have seen a few dead bumble bees. I was just thinking that we haven't had a hard frost yet, and there should be more bees around still, but then again, I have very few blooms at this point, so they must be about done for the season.

When Houzz lets me post more pictures, I'll add them to the post above. (sigh)

Prairiemoon, I hope my Raydon's favorite and Hillside mum provide nectar. I've heard some sterile varieties produce little, so I wonder. Glad I have the natives around!

Houzz does not want to show MY pictures. But Charlie Brown expresses my current opinion. Too, too frustrating! Good luck in tonight's storm to all.

Jane

I love this forsythia. I might not if I had a small suburban yard, but it blooms after winters down to -20F, prevents folks from garroting themselves on the guy wires for the telephone pole, and has these lovely fall colors that range from deep purple through red to yellow every year. I have no idea what kind it is since it was a combo of a donated excess plant from a county sale and a cutting I brought from my grandparents’ home. It makes a 7’ untidy green mound in between the spring and fall shows that the birds like for its dense shelter.

Trying from phone.

Hahahahaha .It was tall and straight going in

It is still majestic, Jane. I haven’t figured out

A few photos from my commute last week. I think we will lose most of our remaining foliage tonight, though some of the oaks may hang on the their leaves if we are lucky.

Rte 393 in Concord is always beautiful in the fall due to the combo of wetland and uplands allowing a range of tree species.

This powerline cut along Rte. 4 near the boundary of Barington and Lee is stunning at this time of year.

(won’t take the second photo after a couple of tries so I will try again tomorrow)

I have about 10 big bunches of allium Ozawa. It is fresh and bright right now half way through October! Yours, Barb, might have come from me? Perhaps?

Big healthy perennial mums: Sheffield Pink, Wills Wonderful, Cambodian Queen. They are worth the wait and the work.

My Allium Ozawa definitely came from you, Marie, from last summer’s mad digging spree.

I put up a bunch of pictures last night (or so I thought). Will try again later.

Marie, I have Wills Wonderful but it blooms very late. Last year a hard freeze took it out just as it started blooming. The sun exposure really tanks in my garden from pretty much full sun to only a couple of hours by the end of September due to some tall trees to the south.

The foliage was gorgeous on my drive home from work last night but the wind and rain from the "bombogenesis" storm last night stripped a lot of the leaves. It's always something, isn't it?

Testing with this picture. Persicaria Golden Arrow looks fab right now.

I kp thinking about taking pictures and trying to post. However, from what 'y'all' report it can be frustrating. So I'm not sure I want to learn a new skill......

Besides, I can't improve on what other's are posting ruby hydrangeas, fragments of blooming perennials, and annuals with their last strong gasp of blooms.

Sue W, where did you hear about Will's Wonderful?. I saw it on Margaret Roaches blog. Sheffield seems early to me this year unless I've forgotten how long it blooms. I often have enough for the Thanksgiving table, though it requires a lot of grooming to be presentable.

I want to replace my disappeared "Bolero", I looked at Bluestone's mum offerings but most of them are not as delicate as the one's we're discussing. I like the ones with a luminous effect....quills and daisy shapes where the sun shines through.

Still having trouble with disappearing posts. Here is Chrysanthemum Bolero. New to me this year but I'm already in love with the color.

Marie, I also read about Will's Wonderful on Margaret Roach's blog. Mine are still in tight bud. Hope they bloom soon

Where's the picture? Sheesh, let's try this again.

Looks like Houzz only likes one picture per post. Sheffield is anotheranother new to me mum this year. It just started blooming this week but is in one of those disappearing sun gardens I am plagued with here.

Companion plant is Ajania pacifica.

Well, that photo worked even if it’s sideways. Mount St. Helens azalea is a favorite bloomer with its tricolor blooms. This wonderful fall color just makes it even better. Hoping to add more of these to the yard but they are difficult to find.

The sun is out this morning, despite a frosty 32 degrees @ 6am. It's warmed up a little and the wind has died down. I was able to get a few photos of color around the yard. The way the trees are situated around us, when fall arrives, they block the sun a lot more. My front bed is full sun all summer but in fall there are 3 hrs during the day that the top of a neighboring tree shades most of it. Which isn't a problem in the front, but in the back, it makes it impossible to plant fall crops.

That's a pretty color on that Azalea, Deanna. And I like that Bolero Mum.

Aronia

Native Oakleaf Hydrangea

This stone garden walk has been a favorite from spring to fall. The Aurea Scotch Moss adds a brilliant flair in every season. It is especially noticeable in fall. You can see some Tiarellas still blooming in the background, too, which amazes me. Maybe they're first-year seedlings, because they are welcome to seed around.

I love the Persicaria. Can't find it at any nurseries here, and I've been looking for a while. Wills Wonderful is on the list! The native hydrangea has such beautiful fall color.

Deanna, is that the pathway you posted photos of in the spring? It's looking pretty. I like the Scotch Moss. How much sun does it get and what kind of soil do you have? I've tried Scotch Moss here but I think my soil might be too heavy. I'm surprised to see Tiarellas blooming too. I've tried those here and they petered out for me in less than two years. Do you have a Japanese Maple nearby?

It's an offshoot path from the spring photos. This path is really going to come into its own next year. I did some rearranging and planning for the area in the above photo this year, but the Scotch Moss was already there. it has expanded nicely! It gets some afternoon sun, but not too much. There is a Japanese Maple above it (which is North). I've had both Irish and Scotch moss peter out in other areas, too, but for some reason they like this spot. I've got Irish moss seeding around many different places now. The pavers are becoming nicely filled in.

Sue, you are further south than I am, but your WW is still in bud. That's interesting.

I can't imagine where my Bolero went.

I can say without reservation that Sheffield is my favorite mum this season. It s color glows and is such a nice change from pink There's a lot of pink in my garden now because the huge pink to rose hydrangea blossoms are stealing the scene.

Sheffield looks good next to the going-to-rusty-maroon sedums.

Since this is the October Show Your Garden thread, I ran out of any worthwhile photos of the garden, how about posting photos of Halloween front stoops? Anyone have some Fall decorations by their door?

Will's Wonderful started blooming this week!

And I think fall entryway photos are a great addition. Our front walkway is being replaced next month so things out there are a bit of a mess though.

Sue, that is a nice tall Mum and the color works so well with the color of your house. I hope you will post again when it is fully open.

I did find another photo....

I just love how rich the red is on the Sedum, I just wish it lasted longer before turning the dull brown for the winter. There's a perovskia there that was just moved in the spring that should fill in better next season, and that green is a Penta that is just filling in until the Hydrangea behind puts on a little more size.