Thursday 7 October 2010

Autumn colours.












This afternoon Tess and I did our usual two mile walk to Forty Acre wood - no goblins about today but plenty of Autumn colour. It was a glorious day with a clear blue sky and I took my camera in the hope of finding something to show you all.

The ash trees vary enormously. Some have already lost their leaves and are just festooned with brown 'keys' (seed heads) which look pretty awful. But some of the young sapling trees are bright yellow and look marvellous against the deep blue sky.
At the entrance to the wood there is a young copper beech tree and it has turned the most beautiful bronzy yellow. The seed heads of cow parsley are still standing and look quite dramatic too.

Along the side of Forty Acre the pheasants gather in their hundreds. I have such mixed feelings - the farmer shoots with a syndicate and is quite keen on the sport. But Forty Acre is part of a huge estate where corporate shooting parties pay large sums of money to shoot there over the winter and consequently pheasant are bred in their thousands. At this time of the year they are still fairly tame as they don't yet see man as a threat so I was able to photograph them as they wandered up the fence side. I hope you can just about see them in the photograph.

The elderberrries are ripening on the bushes - what a feast there will be for the fieldfares and redwings when they arrive any day now. I shall tell you when they come - they usually come fairly soon after the last swallow has departed - and they are long gone from here at any rate.

The hawthorn leaves are turned red and yellow and orange. They fall off quite quickly so we need to make the most of the next few days for their colour. In the front garden there is still a lot of colour. Gertrude Jekyll is in her third lot of bloom - she is such a pretty pink rose - and my schyzostyllus is a mass of red flowers - such a bright red that it almost hits you in the face. And the cheerful yellow redbeckia also gives a bright patch of colour at this time of the year.

But my favourite is the little viola - it is just coming into bloom and I hope to see it in flower somewhere throughout the winter.

We returned from our walk and shortly afterwards a friend called with her two dogs, Millie and Gem, so we set off across the fields. Unfortunately the farmer had spent the afternoon spraying slurry onto the fields - you can imagine what the dogs smelled like by the time we got home!

14 comments:

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

Great photos and I also enjoyed your poem in the previous post.

I too dedicated in my blog a poem on Autumn.

Heather said...

Your garden must still be looking lovely Pat - violas are one of my favourites, they just go on and on. Your photos are beautiful - there is an ash tree at the top of our road which turns amazing colours in autumn, ranging from greenish yellow to deep plummy purple. Hope the dogs are more fragrant now!

Robin Mac said...

What beautiful photos Pat. One of the things I miss by living in the tropics is the distinct change of seasons and the beautiful colours of Autumn in cold climate gardens. Cheers, Robin

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Totally fabulous photos Weaver. And yes please, would love some schyzostyllus if you wouldn't mind sending me some. That would look fabulous here and we like invasive. It means it survives!

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Oh yes, the pink rose is my favorite of the bunch, delicate and lovely. What a nice sunshine day you seem to have enjoyed.

Titus said...

What a lovely post, Weaver, thanks for sharing. And like you, the viola is my absolute favourite. I love these little flowers - I have a number of varieties, self-seeding over the years, in the garden, and I sometimes just have to stop and marvel at them. I have glorious black ones, which are probably my favourite.

Elisabeth said...

Pity about the stinky dogs, but these photos here are so wonderful. They convey the essence of the autumn season along with your glorious descriptions. Thanks Weaver.

highlandwriter said...

lol! bet the dogs were a mess. :-) lovely photos -- thx for sharing with all of us in blogger-land.

:-)

elizabeth/highlandwriter

Reflections said...

Beautiful colors discovered during your trek...

Lovely autumn tales and trails to you.

Unknown said...

Great pictures, Weaver. I must try and get some autumn shots myself. Add me to the viola-fanciers group although the rose does look lovely!

Golden West said...

I really like the waxy quality of your red flowers, and violas are favorite here, as well. Those berries would be grand on a holiday wreath, if they'd hold onto their stems! A pleasure, as always, to join you and Tess on our walk.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for the kind comments - alas today there is such a covering of fog everywhere that it is impossible to see the autumn colours at all.

Everyday Goddess said...

So many beautiful images, I love seeing the glorious creations alive in our world!

I gave you one of my weekly awards which you can collect at my place if you like!

Luuuuuua said...

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