Monday, October 25, 2010

Silver Lining - Fall Color

Another disappointing conclusion to a prediction of rain. Not even a sprinkle graced our garden this weekend full of chances.
Let us not dwell on the disappointments of this fall season. Let us look at the silver lining of those storm clouds that passed right over our area. The tall native asters refuse to not show their beautiful colors against the tiger sumac. 
 Jodi at Bloomingwriter asked the question of what is your favorite fall colors. While the aster mentioned is a great one I think my very favorite is the American Beauty Bush that turns this chartreuse color and has those gorgeous lavender berries.  On Jodi's blog she shows some of the most beautiful colors including the burning bush that gets that gorgeous red during fall but I think Beauty Bush has so much more to offer.
The Bittersweet won't even turn its berries to orange yet. I am sure it is just waiting for a good rain to moisten the coverings so they can pop into their orange show. 
The new shrub Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea is showing some of its strawberry coloring now. It is going to be a keeper no doubt if it can deal with the drought. Of course I am helping it and all the shrubs along with some watering.



 If you like a darker more sultry look in the garden the Ninebark 'Summer Wine'. It looks great sitting beside a Beauty Berrry or a Clethera that turns that chartreuse or yellow in fall.
What plants bring that special fall color into your garden?

32 comments:

  1. Oh my, I love all those same colors in the fall garden. The purple berries, purple foliage, gold foliage and reds and yellows. Our foliage hasn't started turning yet, but it will soon. I need an American bittersweet vine. I do. Thanks for the reminder.~~Dee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lisa may we enjoy the color that our gardens have to offer because not to far away it will all disappear into a "white wilderness"
    I suppose your berries will be the showstoppers then!
    Here I'm enjoying the golden glow of the oaks and Maples!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea, I had never heard of it before. Lovely. We're finally getting rain and moisture after a brutally dry summer... sounds like you could use some rain!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do hope you will get some much needed moisture soon. I do love all the Fall colors. Right now, I am enjoying the Red Crepe Myrtle leaves turning a beautiful purple. The White Crepe Myrtle turns a pretty golden color.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm with you...I love the Beauty Berry with those lushious balls of color! The ony real change here is that the marigolds I've had all summer, with narry a bloom...have burst forth now with thr cooler temps! they are really making my tire gardens pop!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think we got all your rain this weekend. It poured. Its starting to feel more like winter here then Fall at the moment. I am enjoying your flowers here. We still have some impatiens going strong but not for long.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your Vanilla Strawberry reminds me of Pinky Winky Hydrangea, with the two toned white and pink flowers. I ended up moving mine while it was just starting to bloom, but look forward to the flowers next year.

    Those clouds certainly look like rain. If you're going to block the sun, you might as well rain.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Lisa,
    It is good to see your flowers. I do so wish you would get a good rain. It must be frustrating. I have had just barely enough this month.
    I cut my bittersweet before the berries open for decorating. It usually takes about 24 hours inside before the berries open. It can be messy if you wait.
    I do love all the Autumn bushes and flowers. My favorite is always the one with a Monarch on it!
    Today I watched the Cardinals eating the berries in the Dogwood. So today I am smitten with the Dogwoods!
    Happy Halloween....
    Boo,
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your flowers are beautiful. I hope the rain comes your way!

    ReplyDelete
  10. We're finally getting a little much needed rain here too. We're almost 14" below normal! ACK! Hope you get some fall showers soon.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Lisa, that is a stunning sky there. I too love the purple foliage of the nine bark.

    Having a partially shady small garden with small Acers my fav has to be them for changing colours and punch. However, deep down I guess my fav fall colour is the deep velvet green of mosses :-D

    Hope your storm has calmed down now and Luna (and yourselves) can enjoy going out again. Wishing you the rain you need :-D

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lisa, I think the first time I'd ever heard of a beautyberry was on your blog. Now that I've seen them in person several times this year, I've fallen in love with this shrub--it's definitely on my "must add" plant list for next year. Wow, does your hydrangea look good! Did you plant yours in the shade? I decided to put mine in full sun, and its blooms never turned pink like yours. I hope I've been treating it right--if I water nothing else, I always to make sure to keep it watered.

    I had about given up on the forecast, too, but it is pouring down rain this morning!! I hope some of this is headed your way.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love that hydrangea! And I am celebrating this morning, because after my transplanting and bulb planting yesterday we got 1/4 inch of rain last night, with more predicted over the next couple of days. We need every drop.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am loving the reds and burgundies of all the dogwoods around the neighborhood. A few streets over where the soil is deeper the sugar maples are a beautiful orange. It's rare for us to have deep reds. gail ps I am hoping the big storm system moving through the middle states is raining on your garden

    ReplyDelete
  15. I must tell you all that it has finally rained almost a half inch here. Yay... I can hear a sigh of relief from the garden. Thank you all for your good (wet) wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi, Lisa;
    The golden aspens are always a special treat in autumn. I just love crunching through the leaves when I hit the trails.

    ReplyDelete
  17. It's good to hear you got rain! Another big fan of American Beautyberry here. I love the lemony yellow tones in the leaves and there's nothing else like the colors of those berries.

    I need to get some of those Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas. Not only is the name spot on for describing the flowers, it's a great name.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I hope you've got sufficient rain for your fall garden otherwise I would love to send you some of our wet days (if I could) ;-) !! I also enjoy all the golden, yellow and red colors that actually shape our garden. If we had some sunshine, fall would be a perfect season :-) !!

    ReplyDelete
  19. That beautybush is a beauty. I love the purple foliaged ninebarks, especially in fall, when 'Monlo' (Diablo) turns red. It's hard to choose a favorite color of fall.
    I hope you get in on some of the rain from this big, scary storm system.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovin' that hygrandea. These are fragile, but not at all. Romantic and strong.

    Always good to have a look here!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yes, the colours in your autumn garden are gorgeous Lisa:)
    Happy weekends:)

    ReplyDelete
  22. You sound just like me, always watching the sky for rain and going away disappointed. Now that the season is pretty much over, we got about an inch on Tuesday. But the price of that inch was six tornados touching down in Ohio!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Being a big shrub gardener, my fall rocks it out in fall. Viburnums, purple smokebush, chokeberry, fothergilla... it's so lovely! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. You have a lovely collection of autumn colors!

    I can see why the American Beauty Bush is a favorite..it is a beauty!

    Bittersweet has popped around here, and the birds are sure happy about that, the berries don't last long.

    Wishing rain for you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love my hydrangea for fall color. i love the metamorphosis it makes from creamy white to deep rose in fall.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Such lovely colors and photos. We use to live in Union City Indiana. My Mom was from there.


    Melanie

    ReplyDelete
  27. lovely to see autumn through your eyes~

    ReplyDelete
  28. Lisa girl I hope you got some rain by now ? I have Center Glow as well as Summer Wine Ninebark and they are stunning with that dark colour .. I have Dream Catcher beauty bush but I kept it trimmed back a lot this season .. so it didn't really have a chance with colour change .. and I have been wondering about Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea .. yours looks very pretty even with the drought !
    Fingers crossed girl !
    Joy

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi!
    The Bittersweet should show the berries by this time of the year, I suppose.
    The colors in all the pictures are very beautiful. Autumn definitely has a lot of charm in its own way :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Paseando por blogs he llegada aqui, de lo que me alegro pues tienes unas fotos muy bonitas. Gracias por compartirlas. Felicidades. Saludos. Victoria.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I'm sorry I'm just getting here now, Lisa! If you've seen the pile of books I put up a week or so back, you know what I've been doing! LOVE the beautyberry colours; I don't have one now (they're sort of iffy here in my garden, but I'm going to try a small one next year and see if I can nurture it. Those purple berries are mesmerizing.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Fall colour is always pretty!
    How I adore you live in 4 seasons country!

    ReplyDelete

New Blogger, Old Blogger

     All I can say it is difficult to deal with change. This new Blogger format is not as user friendly in my opinion. I guess I will get us...