Orb Weavers Return

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Hooray!  In keeping with the season:  The orb weavers seem to be returning in greater numbers than I've seen in the last few years.  I equate their presence with a more "normal" autumn leading to rain showers by October.  This weather pattern has been woefully lacking for several years, along with fewer and fewer orb weavers.  Now they are back and so is the rain: An inch or more in the last few days, setting us up for a cooler, wetter fall.  One can hope.

© Copyright 2006-2016, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Japanese Anemone 'Bressingham Glow'

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And glow they do when caught with the evening sun shimmering through their petals.

This fall-flowering, double pink is a favorite of mine. It makes the largest seed heads that can last through the winter and offer a soft lining for hummingbird nests in the spring.

Click here for a nice primer on these plants and others in the family.

© Copyright 2006-2016, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

The Autumnal Equinox is Upon Us

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September 22, 2016 at 10:21 AM EDT (7:21 AM PDT) is the exact moment of this year's Autumn Equinox.

Here on Raven Ridge, the leaves have been turning hues of orange, yellow and red for a number of weeks. I don't know if that portends a cold, rainy winter or a cold, dry winter. But, if the balmy evening we had last night, where we were able to stay out on the deck in shirt sleeves until well past 8:30 (almost unheard of on this foggy coast of northern California), is any indication, we probably won't see rain anytime soon.

Depicted here is a Viburnum trilobum, or American Cranberry Bush. It happily grows outside my office window.

Check out this link on The Farmers Almanac web site for fall equinox information. And don't be thrown off by the year in the link, it is really for 2016.

Happy Autumn Equinox!

© Copyright 2006-2016, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Black Calla Lily in Autumn

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While the brilliant colors of autumn are making quite a spectacle of themselves outdoors against a clear blue sky, the black calla lily plant I purchased in October is putting on a dazzling display of its own on the sun porch.

© Copyright 2006-2013, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Japanese Maple and Clematis

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Fall colors are ablaze these days on Raven Ridge; from pure yellows to orange, copper and fiery red.

This vignette is comprised of Japanese maple and a white-blooming clematis - a little shy of flowers but quite a prolific grower. I cut it back several times during the summer to keep it from completely engulfing the dwarf maple tree.

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Early Morning Moonset

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The setting waning gibbous moon, Oct. 1, 2012.  We don't get such clear skies very often.  Got to take advantage of them.

© Copyright 2006-2012, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Sunset Sunrise

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Sunset, Sept. 20, 2012

Morning sky, Sept. 21, 2012

After several days of cold and fog, the sun broke through just in time to show us a golden sunset last night. 

We awoke to a beautiful blue sky this morning.

Autumn begins tomorrow.

© Copyright 2006-2012, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

White Japanese Anemone

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After nearly wiping out my white Japanese anemones with some rather heavy-handed weeding a few years back, I am happy to say that they are now growing well and multiplying in one section of my garden.

I love their white purity.

© Copyright 2006-2012, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Double Japanese Anemone and the Waning of Summer

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Double Japanese anemone

When the Japanese anemones open I know that our foggy summer is more than halfway over; that the sunny skies of autumn will be here soon.

This is the season I look forward to the most:  The colors, the flavors, the woodsy-composty-smokey outdoor scents, the red-gold sun with its long shadows, the just perceptible nip to the evening air, the rise of winged ants, the frantic feeding of swallows as they prepare for their long flight to a warmer winter, the promise of holidays with family and a new grand-baby.

We tuck in.  Summer is way too short here; our winters way too long.

I still love it.

© Copyright 2006-2012, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Late Autumn in my Garden - The Last Maple Leaf

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I took this photo a few days ago when skies were clear for a moment and this last maple leaf was determinedly holding on to the bitter end. It has since fallen to the ground, joining its red, gold, orange and brown brethren, signaling, to me at least, that Autumn is over.

I didn't get as much accomplished in my garden as I would have liked this fall, which means there will be more work in the spring. At least I have the winter to contemplate what I'll do when the rains stop.

I like to think I welcome winter with all her attendant indoor coziness, but the truth is that I like longer, warmer days where I can spend more time outside, whether it's gardening or shooting photos.

I'm working on patience ...

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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For my friend Erika

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Autumn in my Garden - Virbunum Leaf for Ruby Tuesday

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The late afternoon sun shining through a viburnum leaf, creating such a display of veins and ridges, seemed to light up the leaf from within.  Such is my offering for this week's Ruby Tuesday.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Autumn in My Garden - Circus Rose

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Out in the yard shooting photos, playing with camera settings.  Sometimes I get a shot that just intrigues me:  No flash; sunny blue sky overhead; haven't a clue why it turned out this way.  But I'm glad it did.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Sunset - Fire in the Sky

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Now, I thought this photo was nice enough.

I put my camera away and went in the house to fix dinner, and ...

... just happened to see the glow of this when passing by a window.

Kinda nice.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Sun Setting Behind Pewetole Island

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I meant to post this over a month ago.  The sun has moved since I took this photo and now sets quite to the left of the distant rock.  Autumn sliding into Winter ...

Me trying to get my groove back.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Autumn in My Garden - Water Everywhere

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Early morning:  I love how water droplets cling to the serrated edges of rose leaves.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Autumn 2010 in My Garden - Gold Mums

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Actually, these mums are still in pots awaiting planting into bigger pots that will grace the back deck for the fall season.  They look so pretty, all bunched together, that I can't resist the temptation to take a photo or two.

The bottom photo is copyrighted differently because it's going to go into my folder of photos to be made into note cards.

Someday.

When I have the time.

And the inclination.

Well, the inclination is there, so I think it must be the time.

Sigh.

Garden Notes:

We've been having several delicious autumn days of sun and relative warmth.  I can see the fog bank lurking a few hundred yards to the west.  We are, as my neighbor says, "in the smug zone".

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Happy Autumnal Equinox 2010

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I was going to post a photo of the full moon that I took at 6:30 this morning to welcome in Autumn, but I guess my camera is still a bit wonky (or maybe the user is) and they didn't come out well.

Did you see the full moon last night with Jupiter shadowing it all night long until dawn? It was stunning. A rare view.  Watch for it tonight if the skies are clear in your neighborhood.

I know many gardeners welcome signs of autumn; a time to gather in all the summer's bounty and preserve it for the colder months to come.  A time to finally stop weeding and put the garden to bed for the winter, unless, of course, you plant a winter garden.  A time to put an extra blanket on the bed, make soups and stews, get out those projects you've been wanting to do - hopefully you will have time now with the longer nights.

Lettuce, peas, fava beans, chard, kale all grow well in my garden come the cooler days of fall and I hope to be planting some of them this month.  Even potatoes overwinter here.  I guess I shouldn't grouse so much about not being able to grow tomatoes.

Do you plant a winter garden?

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

(Late) Summer in my Garden (On the Beach) - Mimulus

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Mimulus, or Monkey Flower, Trinidad Beach

It isn't just the sunshine after weeks and weeks of foggy, gray days.  The sun has come out to play, yes, and we are delighted and oh so grateful, but there is something else going on:

A small shift, a fleeting earthy perfume, here and there a few falling alder leaves, the asters coming into full bloom, the swallows slipping quietly away when nobody was looking.  Winged ants.  I saw three of them yesterday.

Can you feel it?

Fall is coming.

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Autumn in My Garden 2009 - Frost-Nipped Teal Hydrangea

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This small hydrangea lives along the pathway to the house. In the spring, summer and early fall it's a soft blue color but when the frost starts nipping at it, it turns a beautiful teal blue.

Tonight's weather forecast, down in the 20s; it's possible we'll have some snow soon. Brrrrrrrrrrr!

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