Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....

All beautiful B, but number 2....wow! Thank you for sharing these with us!

you have such a good eye! I like pics 7 and 8 best. Beautiful photos.

I used to be one of those gardeners who cut everything back come autumn, but then the garden looks so bare, so in recent years have left most things till spring, more food for the birds with old seedheads and most look gorgeous covered in frost and as you say Barbara such wonderful colours.
Great pictures :-)

Wonderful colours Spritz.

Wonderful Autumnal pictures and plants, boughing out in a blaze of colour, Great blog ;0)

Lovely photo`s Spritz.....

I just love this blog. Wonderful colours.

another way of looking at our plants in autumn ..thank you Barbara, great photos..

What a wonderful present to cheer us up during these ever changing days Spritz. One minute the sun is shining and glinting off the wet leaves and the next the wind is tumbling everything into untidy heaps of summer memories up against the garage wall.

Your garden is a delight to behold any season of the year and of course that only comes with hard work, an excellent understanding of colours, texture and the heights of plants and lots of fore thought.

Totally agree with you Spritz, is it me or are the autumn colours better than ever this year? Lovely blog as always.

Lovely Spritzhenry I really liked your blog , so many lovely autumn colour's.

I was just thinking over the weekend how colourful Autumn is this year - nice pics Barbara

Thank you, Barbara for revealing the beauty and variety of the autumn display of colour. The photos took my breath away...you have an affinity with texture, colour and seeing what others would miss or glance at.

I really loved your photos...a wonderful feast for my eyes at the end of the day :)

Mmm! Lovely! A 'swan song' of plants.

Perfik description Nariz! Thanks Spritz..you sure got it!

Thanks for showing such lovely colours from your garden Barbara. Next to the spring I like the autumn best. I love the coloured leaves - on the trees and also on the ground , where I can crunch them as I walk along :o)

what a brilliant blog ~ you can definitely see the artist in your photos ~ is gardening an art or a science?
i think the beauty is in the detail and you have captured it
thank you!

I'm glad you can find the child in you, Hywel!

Thanks all for your lovely comments - the show isn't over, is it? I read yesterday that for gardeners, this is the beginning of their year. I thought that was a great way of looking at it!

Thank you Sticki -someone told me on one of my open days that I 'painted with plants' and I found that an immense compliment...and now you've added to it! :-))))

painting with plants ~ that is lovely!
i find it so difficult to walk past those glowing leaves on trees or on the floor ~ what can i do with them? i even tried laminating them in an effort to keep them but that doesnt work either!
photographing them certainly helps ~ so thank you again for your lovely pictures and commentry

You're welcome. I think photography is probably the only way - unless they'd press between two sheets of glass? I think that would only be temporary, though.

makes us appreciate them even more because they are temporary?
i was thinking your blog is a little like that saying: is the glass half full or half empty? its just the way you see it!

Yes, I think you're right. Maybe we should appreciate temporary beauty while it's there. I do know that my scarlet Acer, for example, will drop all its leaves as soon as a wind picks up.

i shall be out putting up all the windbreaks i can find!
hope no one mistakes my house for the beach!! dont think thats likely tho!!

there was a question-- I think on the radio-- why do plants put so much energy into the gorgeous display with no aparrent gain to themselves, there was no real answer, the golds are understangable with the chlorophyll gone leaving the colours behind, but they said that some colours-- the deep reds especially are manufactured by the plant ( the scientists among us would probably know) but the beauty that we see all around us to enjoy is a Gift and Spritz you've captured it perfectly and i'm sure will make me really look rather than take it all for granted

love all the colour and yes can see the buety in it all. allso love to go kiking theleaves around wth the grandkids lol. i do pik some up only were it wud b slippry to walk. lovely pics...

Great blog Barbara and beautiful photos too. This is a wonderful season, not only sight, but sound and smells too - woodland walks should be on prescription for lifting the spirits ! :-)

Lots of lovely autumn colour thanks for showing us.

i love the autumn colours to barbara and never cut anything back till spring lol, only sweep and bag fallen leaves for your black gold, lovely pics thanx ;o))

I enjoyed creating this blog so I'm glad you all enjoyed reading it. A good amble around the garden looking more closely is a tonic - and Muddy is right!

I am now going to look at the fallen leafs in a different light Spritz, the council has already been and collected about 60 sackfulls of leafs from us, now every time we go out to clear them up I will take notice of the shapes and colours and it won't be so much of a chore, thank you.

A lovely blog Spritz. Sometimes it's easy to miss nature's more subtle colours when they're competing with beauties like you Parthenocissus. You lovely photos have certainly given me inspiration to look a little more closely. :o))

If you put the leaves into black bags Yorkshire and make a few holes in the bottom, it makes great compost. I just stack them in a corner out of sight. You can see the leaves in yet another light!!!

no where to keep them Linda, as I said the council have taken 60, we reckon about another 50 before we clear them all, just can't store that many bags, we are surrounded by trees.

The council will likely mulch them down and use them in the council gardens....yes, it would be a problem for you to store all the collected leaves, Yorks....do you get help to gather them? It must take you hours.

no help. just me and my husband,

Better than going to the gym though. :-)

a lovely blog & great photos...makes you think twice about the messy side to autumn!

Thanks. Yes, and 'I' need to do that, or it would be all too easy to feel depressed about plants vanishing for the winter, raking leaves and so on. I've tried to look at the 'beautiful' side of the coin. I saw a small wood this morning - gold and red and simply glorious! :-)))

Amazing so many beautiful colours, this Autumn has been so colourful, great blog and pics Spritz.

Best autumn for few years I reckon. We motored from Bristol to Yatton last Sat and the variation of gold was amazing...from pale gold of silver birch, to bright gold, pink gold, green gold, russet gold and brown gold. The still green trees were quite a "shock" in between, a couple of silvery greens..some reds in cultivated gardens..but oh! the shades of gold....

I think you're both right - the leaf colours are amazing this year.

Wonderful blog. you have a great eye and thankfully you have captured it all to share with us. Thankyou, all beautiful but my favourite is the Acer.

Thanks, Grannysue. It's hard for me to choose - as they're all out there as an 'entity', if you see what I mean! :-)))

Stunning photos Spritz. So many kindred spirits on this site :))

Aren't there - I love chatting to people about gardens, plants and more...:-))))

(Thank you, too.)

Wow Wow Wow, just how amazing is that colour. I too am (for the first year ever) leaving my seed heads on and not cutting back until spring. I always tried to tidy up after the flowers had finished showing me their colour, but made a decision not to do it this year. The only reason I have done it in the past has been a time thing, when I have been busy working but now I am at home more time I can leave things and do the tidying in springtime, the only ones I have cut down so far are a border of Daylillies which is really a must for me to cut back as it just flops over and goes mushy. I just hope that I can see the bulbs that are planted in between all the herbaceous plants when they arrive. Time will tell. I will see what happens and make choices again next autumn if it doesn't work for me. Thanks Barbara for taking the time and effort to show us how much is to be seen even when the flowers have faded, truly beautiful garden photos.

Thank you for all you've said - it's a balance between clearing/tidying for good reasons, and appreciating what the eye can see, isn't it - oh, and not forgetting insect and bird life!

yes it certainly is, we do not take enough time to just look and see! Think it is just a sign of the times, everyone rushing everywhere with no time to stop. But then again I think that is the age thing, when you are younger time to stop isn't on your priority list, it is only when the years are rolling by that we realise time is important. We have to make the most of what time we have, life is precious isn't it in all forms. Hope that isn't morbid I don't feel morbid, just an observation. lol. hope there is a lot more time for us all to appreciate the good things we have in our gardens and surrounding us.

bin gathering leaves last 2 days . bin putting them into a dug out raised bed 4 now along wth staw and beding from the hens to rot down over winter ... have put a cover on as well .

Olive - that's so true. When I was working, I left home in the dark and came home in it as well. It's only since we retired that I find the time to 'stand and stare'.

Cristina - don't put too many leaves into your 'mix' as they tend to go slimy. They really need to be put in bags on their own, or a wire enclosure if you have the space.

Beautiful photos Spritz. Autumn always amazes me with the variety of colours you can find. Well done.

Thanks, Gilli. is your area one where you get magnificent'Fall' colours?

We usually do get lovely fall colours Spritz. Because it's so dry, the leaves don't go brown and mushy.

Lovely. I thought you might. :-)))

I have to do some raking in a minute - I can't leave the 'leaf carpet' as a lot of rain is expected tonight - then it will indeed be a brown mush! :-(((

Well, don't work too hard Spritz....and watch your back doesn't get strained (speaking from experience here)!!

Oh, I know, Gilli! Bye for now. I'm off to get the rake.

Oh Spritz...we've had rain since late morning here....that drizzly kind that really wets you through. It started this morning just as I was out looking over my pots...just got in before the downpour really got underway. Hope you get your leaves raked up before it hits your neck of the woods.

Cristina, leaves have lignin in them as do trees and it means they decompose slowly. It is therefore best to keep them separate as Spritzhenry said.

I've just come in, Whl. It's not raining here - yet - so I raked up a whole lawn of leaves - no small task, I assure you, with three poplars and a weeping ash all dropping their leaves! I am ashamed to say that having run out of space, I had to burn the last lot.

What I'll do with all the others yet to fall, I have no idea.

You'll have muscles to envy, Spritz...lol Burning leaves is one autumn smell I used to love as a child. With so many leaves on your property I can understand how you'd have to do that.

Do you end up with much ash? and if so can it be used in flower beds? I don't remember my dad doing anything special with them after they burned...but that is ancient history to me at my age! lol

I seem to remember him emptying ash from our wood burning stoves into our garden or maybe a compost...such a long time ago now.

We have a log-burner, and the ash from that plus the ash from the incinerator go into the compost bin, in layers.

I think that people who have veggie patches use the ash on their plots, too...but I don't grow veggies.

I have a feeling I shall ache tomorrow!

i put my ash on veg plots too but o g.w they said only use wood ash in compost . and ok wont put leaves in any more . will keep sep. ta

Thank you for taking the time to share those wonderful colours with us Spritz. You certainly made the most of a sunny day. This autumn in particular I have really appreciated the leaf colours - have never seen my Acer griseum so red, or the Field Maple so gold. Getting out for a walk and scrunching leaves underfoot is so good for the soul!

Yes - and raking them up is good exercise! LOL. I had to - the top lawn was covered in leaves, and I think that rain is on the way. :-((

I'm glad you enjoyed my autumn garden, Sheila. :-))

Good for you! For health reasons neither of us can rake at the moment - so I just walk round the garden and enjoy the view, picking up a few colourful leaves and bringing in the fallen apples and pears. It's not such a bad season!!

There are a lot more leaves yet to fall, so more raking later. How are you managing if you can't rake up the leaves? I'm sorry to hear that, by the way.

lovley photos especialy the winter red acers . you know i swear my 2 big red acers were in full leaf about 2 days ago . went out the today and there was hardley a leaf on them lol . it was windy thow .

Yes - I raked all the leaves up yesterday afternoon, and this morning after a wind in the night, you wouldn't know I'd done it. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry, Np!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, anyway. :-))

Thanks for asking after our health set-back! My husband normally has to do most of the heavy work, but he's just had a hernia op, so has to take it easy for a week or two. Luckily yesterday the wind took masses of the leaves right to the back of the garden (our wild bit), just hoping they won't all blow back today! (P.S. don't feel sorry for me, but I have the have-to-sit-down-a-lot syndrome, so it's little and often for me, a bit like your elephant-eating . . )

Well, needs must. I do feel for both of you - it's frustrating not being able to 'get on' with things that need doing. I know all about that, Sheila! :-(

Sheilabub and hubby, come the spring you may feel more up to doing stuff in the garden, hope so, you just need to take things quiet, listen to your bodies and do what you can when you can. As you say little by little gets you there in the end. Hope you are soon feeling fighting fit again, best wishes.

Love all of the colours Spritz, maybe I should invent a spray that will keep the leaves on things for longer :-) When walking the dogs, I've seen some magnificent trees, I do think everything is colouring more this year. My own garden has few plants for good leaf colour after the makeover, but come next year...Really enjoyed your blog, even if it does make me jealous:-)

Thanks, Ba. At least that's something you can remedy for the future, isn't it.

I shall wait for the spray - wonderful idea! :-))

Thank you for reminding us that we have natural beauty in the garden at whatever time of year and not just work to make it how we belive it should look.

You're very welcome, Catriona. :-))

it will all be back next year lol

How true, Np! I never thought I'd look forward to autumn! :-))))

me either lol
x

Thanks for inspiring me to have a much closer look at my own garden.

I hope you find some beauty there, Bernard - I just 'know' you will. :-)))

you always can somewear

I just wanted a quick look, but then I was catched by your very god pictures, and very clever text.

Would it be okay to use a few of your pictures on a danish website similar to this? I will ofcourse mention where I got them from.

I always cut down my perennials late, sometimes in early spring, so I have the joy of following the colours.

I thing you have inspired me to take some autumn pic´s tomorrow. Thanks.

result they are very good . i realy like the first picture of leaves . it would look good huge on a big board about half inch out from the wall in your sitting room . love it

sometimes its the idea of what makes a good photo in the first place realy . you cant make a silk purse out of a pigs ear but you can make a beautiful picture of a pigs ear lol .

I think this years autumn colours are better than last seasons, or do we say this every year! Beautiful pictures Spritz.

no i think your right rbtkew

I do, too, Robert - I've been stopped in my tracks up the lanes near us a few times in the past 2 or 3 weeks by the amazing reds of a couple of trees - possibly maples?? (can't get close enough to check) and the field maples in their golds and yellows, too. I went under an arch of beech trees too - amazing!

Hanne - of course you may use any of my photos as long as they're just to post on a site! You're welcome. :-))

Thanks.

fallen leaves - my Nanna had a complex about leaves - leaf fall keeps roots warm - return nutrient to soil when they break down - provide food for 'things' of all sorts that keep soil, and so plants, healthy - let them lay i say

thank you for these beautiful pictures Spritz =))

Glad you enjoyed them, Cate.

I can't leave them on the lawns, as they wreck the grass! So I have been clearing them up this week. That 'carpet' in pic. 1 has gone. :-( I also had to clear them off the narrow border by the path, as I couldn't even see the new pansies in there. Underneath, I found a number of small snails, and no pansy flowers. Grrrr.....

in the week I have been away the old beech tree has dropped every leaf and all my spare plants are smothered :o( Don know when I will get chance to clear them as back at work tomorrow.
It gets so dark so early now :o(

You'll have to recruit some assistance from your family, Sbg. We have ways of getting help, don't we! Hmmmm...no food cooked unless they've removed a bagful each? No washing done until they've shifted another bag? Just some ideas from one (ex) working mother to another. LOL.

yin & yang- - - -nice & thoughtful blog.

Ahhh, foliage is so understated. I love it and use it more than flowers!!

Thanks, Bampy - and hallo, Andrea - how are you? You'll know that I agree with you - up to a point! LOL.