My Favorite Season!
Leaves litter the ground beneath our sweetgum tree, planted when our first grandbaby made us grandparents on--what else--Grandparents Day, 1999. Plants that flourished with blossoms may look droopy and brown, but they continue to provide seeds for hungry travelers. Ever since I dug up the backyard and planted a meandering garden of perennials, we've played host to six or seven species of birds, including finches, robins, nuthatches, sparrows, and more.
I no longer have to travel far to find great nature closeups. I just grab my
Canon 5D and head outside, within steps of my back door. I've discovered that some of the greatest natural treasures can be found at home.
This lens will continue my Backyard Photo Ops series. Come celebrate this colorful season with me. We'll explore the changes that take place as autumn pulls us closer to winter.
Most of our leaves are now scattered under the trees, forming a colorful carpet across my garden paths. I'll rake them in time, but for now I want to enjoy the golds and reds. Soon winter will ice everything over. Time marches on.
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Fire & Ice
My Feathered Friends
Every season presents its own surprises
I read a gardening blog about all the tasks we should be doing this time of year. Trim back certain plants like my butterfly bush. Cut roses back so they're a foot or two tall. Deadhead to the max and clean up plants that are starting to look woody or wilted.In my backyard, I let the birds decide when it's time.
When our goldfinches ran out of black oil sunflower seed, I decided to see what they would do if I didn't re-fill their feeders right away. I wanted to encourage them to do what finches normally do--go after my sunflowers instead of whining because the feeders have run out of seed. I'll re-fill the feeders after they take care of those heavily-seeded, bent-over sunflowers. Those hungry birds are so used to having full feeders, I swear they've held a meeting. They're boycotting the tree until I cave and give them what they want.
Dinnertime!
Fall Gardening Advice from the Blogs
I'm all for good advice. People online are busy chatting back and forth about their fall gardening plans. I'm listing five of their nuggets below.
1. Plant bulbs now for a colorful spring. -- Garden Rant blog
2. Dig up tender bulbs like elephant's ear, caladium, gladiolus, canna and dahlia before the first frost. - PetalWeb
3. Make sure your flower garden designs last well into fall with these hardy, late-blooming plants. - Gardening Advice
4. Get wise about energy and water efficiency. - Resources Action Programs
5. Divide overgrown clumps of perennials, such as Daylilies, Daisies, Hostas and Coneflowers. Replant divisions or give to friends as "pass-along" plants.
- Pike Nurseries
Backyard Delights @Zazzle
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Nature Photographers
...beautiful detours...
I try to set aside time regularly to explore the lenses and blogs of fellow photographers, too. Sometimes they're backyard photographers like me, but often they're people who travel great distances to capture spectacular landscapes, sunsets, and mountaintops. I like traveling, and have taken my share of landscape photos, but my backyard garden continues to draw me back for a closer look.
- Aerial Photography
- This one will make you dizzy! Gorgeous shots from the air--almost resembles a quilt!
- Dan Ransom Photography
- Dan specializes in landscape and tosses in a few abstracts now and then. His "backyard" is bigger than mine, as he travels a lot.
- Nature's Diary
- Tom Whelan is a gifted photographer with an eye for what works.
- The Way I See It
- This fellow Canon user takes an artistic approach to picture-shooting.
- Vincent Versace
- Vincent Versace has long been a favorite of mine. His nature photos are stunningly beautiful.
Photographing Herbs
Next year's project...
I don't have an herb section in my garden, I'm sorry to say. Next year I plan to remedy that.
There's something wild and pretty about an herb garden. Maybe it's the combination of plants all smooshed together, or maybe it's the selection of cute signs available for labeling each herb. Or maybe it's the convenience of being able to photograph and cook with the same plant.
I've discovered some avid herb gardeners online. Their links are worth a visit.
"Heather" 16x20 fine art print from Art.com. Click image...
Autumn Reading
...for photographers who love their gardens!
If you're anything like me and you've never planned an herb garden, fall/winter is a good time to think ahead. (If you're fortunate to have a greenhouse, you'll have a headstart!) You might want to try your hand at starting herbs indoors, too. See the videos above, or check out the following links from various agencies & gardeners.
I've checked into helpful resources on the whys and hows of herb gardening. I do know that herbs are a beautiful photo op, so that's a big draw for me.
Besides, how many photo ops can you also chop and drop into your soup?
- Growing Herbs in the Home Garden
- West Virginia's Ag Extension Service site
- Simple Gifts Farm.com
- Enthusiastic advice in this article!
- Growing, Preserving, & Using Herbs
- Trivia and good advice.
- 5 Tips for Growing Herbs Inside
- No room for an herb garden in your backyard? Not to worry. Here's how to grow one inside.
Videos from honest-to-goodness herb gardeners...
Container Gardening: Container Herb Garden
Organic Herb Gardening Tips : Herb Garden Growing Tips
How to Grow an Herb Garden Indoors or Outdoors : Soil Preparation Methods: Growing an Herb Garden
growing an indoor organic herb garden {kids + eco friendly}
Container Herb Garden - Container Gardening-Insightful Nana
Spinning a Story
Fall Garden Tours
- White House Fall Garden Tours
- If you're in the neighborhood, head on over to the White House. It's fall garden tour time.
- Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
- Don't you wish you could transplant these flowers into your own backyard?
- Quail Botanical Gardens
- In the San Diego area? Check it out!
- Chicago Botanical Garden
- The Windy City boasts a gorgeous Botanical Garden...
Tomatoes in October...YUM!
"Homegrown" Bag by seedplanter
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A Tangled Garden
My favorite place for floral photos...
A friend visited my garden and told me how much she loved the "tangled" look. At first I thought, tangled? Is that a compliment, or does she really mean chaotic?
Then I ran across a garden site that actually talks about tangled gardens. Others call them cottage gardens because for the most part, they're wild and meandering and one plant takes up where another leaves off. Paths wind through them and the overall look is like stepping back in time to a natural, free-flowing garden that seems to have planted itself.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Autmn Lawn Care
Martin Fish from Garden News recommends an Autumn lawn feed
curated content from YouTube
Seasons of Life
Capture the unusual - "Tired Leaves"
Leave Your Footprint...
Tell me about your fall garden!
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Reply
- CoolFoto CoolFoto May 30, 2009 @ 8:36 am
- Hello to a fellow member of Naturally Native Squids group, fellow photographer, and Zazzler, too. We have a lot in common, but, I live in Florida. We lost fall down here. :( . I do miss the changing colors.
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Reply
- seedplanter seedplanter Jan 26, 2009 @ 2:19 pm | in reply to mbgphoto
- Thanks for the visit! I've got a serious case of spring fever today, because we awoke to a cold-but-sunny morning. Makes me want to work in the yard, but it's too cold for that!
Glad you're spending a warm morning inside, exploring my lenses. Thanks for letting me know that. :) I look foreward to spending time at yours, as well. I notice you have an interest in lighthouses...same here. We love the Oregon coast lighthouses.
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Reply
- mbgphoto mbgphoto Jan 26, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
- I'm enjoying a cold, winters day by exploring your lenses.and viewing your photography sites. Beautiful work!
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Reply
- owlperson owlperson Nov 29, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
- A lovely lens. I enjoy the detail of the closeups and the gorgeous colors as well as the compsitions. A five!
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Reply
- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Nov 25, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
- Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens link to the appropriate plexo and vote for it.
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Wife. Mom. Grandmother. Writer. Photographer. Product reviewer. Jewelry designer. Zazzler. Giant Squid. Blogger. Human Bean of the creative...
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