Sunday, October 25, 2009

California Fallishness


We had a gorgeous California fall weekend; warm and sunny, blue skies. Great gardening weather, but while I managed some drive-by weeding and tidied a bit, I was a lazy gardener (again!) I get so distracted by the colors, the shapes, and the light, the way plants change, like the Dodonea donning its glossy, maroon winter costume.
~Click any photo to enlarge~


Or how this stone plaque is now so nicely framed by the Boston Ivy; it used to just hang on a bare fence.


I notice how the plants in the courtyard are now flowing into each other, and how the Honeysuckle is on its way to being a venerable old vine, twisting around the post.


I'm still putting my new camera through its paces, and have learned a few things; I love how I can capture so much of the garden in one simple frame.


Nandina 'Firepower' is lovely in the afternoon light. The Isotoma groundcover is perking up after the recent rains.


Fuchsia thymifolia is a lovely little shrub, I've had this in a pot for several years. Yes, those flowers are extremely tiny!


I'm not a big fan of boxwood, except for this variegated variety. I love how it glows, in its tidy way, where I dot it through the garden.


Begonia richmondiensis is SUCH a sucker for a close-up; please click on this one to see the larger version, but only if you love a shot of iridescent pink on a Monday!


The only thing cooler than Manihot leaves are Manihot leaves on a bamboo-dappled October afternoon.


Moonlight Yellow Nasturtiums are one of those plants that you will always find in my garden. I give it some suggestions, but it really decides where it wants to be...


Like in the middle of the carpet roses!


Fig leaves! That's it, just Fig leaves!


Another Nandina shot; I love the subtle, curling contours of the leaves as well as the color.


The cats attended my photo shoot, so with no (sensible) hummingbirds around, they will have to do! Zen enjoys lurking in the grasses; she thinks she can't be seen.


And Haku enjoys snoozing in the grasses; he doesn't care much whether he's seen or not!

12 comments:

  1. So much BEAUTY!
    I love it when the Dodoneas start coloring up - it happens in my garden almost exactly when my Cotinus starts changing from purple to orange. What total FALLISHNESS! (a glorious phrase to coin, I'm going to use if frequently, and I will credit you every time)

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  2. Beautiful pics Laura. Looks like you & the new camera are getting along swimmingly. The Manihot DOES look cool, might have a spot for one of those in my back yard. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  3. MUST get a Manihot - never even planted one of these & it's now on my 'top 10' list of plants to try out! Beautiful photos - as usual.

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  4. Well Manihot lovers, they grow fabulously from seed and I've been collecting it, we'll have to have a manihot tweetup and spread the love! Thanks!

    Germi, use Fallishness all you want...I sat here trying to thinking of something, anything different, and that's what I came up with, glad you like!

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  5. I like that variegated boxwood too. I bought a half-dozen of them as bonsai starters & planted them around the garden. In a few years, when they're a little bit bigger, I'll prune them into loose spheres. I think it will help contribute to a feeling of rhythm in the garden.

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  6. Chuck, exactly! I zig-zag them around and they guide your eye, without being a hedge. Sun or shade too, which is helpful! (LOVED your 'watching the leaves fall' post, esp. the video!)

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  7. You are becoming a wiz with your new camera! Lovely pictures. For a minute I thought I had the date wrong and I'd wandered by on Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!

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  8. Laura, I'm very curious about your new camera, great photos!
    Which model did you acquire? Your gardens are absolutely gorgeous.
    All is very fallish here in Indiana but it keeps me busy.

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  9. Great pics. I love all that fall texture you're showing off. I'm still waiting for my new garden to acquire anything close to that venerable feeling you mentioned. Patience, patience, patience.

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  10. I adore my camera! It's a Canon PowerShot SX110IS that I got used (but in new condition) thru Amazon Marketplace for $200. Killer feature is the 10X optical and up to 40X digital zoom. 9MP (it's a slightly older model). Combine with an 8GB memory card and I'm in photographer heaven. The photos in this post are my first in manual mode (slaps hand to forehead). And I got a tripod. Those two things just changed everything. Stay tuned for more!

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  11. Pam, This garden is only six months old! I just found some pics from April and can't believe the change. Will be adding some befores/afters to FB shortly, you should check it. It will give you hope!

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