The blue sky has once again made it a fabulous day for taking pictures, and the garden is looking so colourful still – here I have captured some of it in my Monday vase for Cathy’s meme (Rambling in the Garden).
Pink seems to be the predominant colour at the moment with cosmos and sedums, a few roses and my bright pink aster which I decided not to include for fear of blinding you all with pink!
At the base of the vase I scattered the first leaves to fall from our Japanese Acer – can you see the orange leaves in the background?
The pink vase is new: marked down to make way for the Christmas decorations that are now filling the shelves – and that was in September still!
Here are some photos I just took of the Acer – it is probably at its peak now, and with rainy weather forecast I thought I’d better get some shots quick.
Now you must visit Cathy, who is also in the pink today with her vase!
🙂
Words and Herbs 
Very funny that you have a pink vase today, too. I think it is a lesson to us all that not every fall color is yellow or orange!
It seems everyone is picking pink flowers this week Linda! Thanks for visiting! 🙂
Such pretty flowers Cathy. I like the dark pinks of the flowers against the dark red of your new vase. Your garden is really going strong–the acer is great. Enjoy your week.
Thank you Susie. That cosmos is the only flower so far from the monster plant that has only just started flowering! It has lots of foliage, and is over a metre tall, but with very cold nights I think it will struggle to produce any more flowers!
My cosmos did the same thing–lots of foliage but few flowers.
You have much better weather than us Cathy, today we have drizzle and I have come in to put another jumper on. Your vase is very pretty – I cant find a slide show on your post, is this me?
I hope the slide show works for you now Julie. Perhaps reloading the page will help? We have also got damp weather again today, but I am hoping to get started on planting some bulbs later!
Your flowers and Acer are beautiful Cathy. I love the way you have included Miscanthus which has pink tones too.
Hi Gillian. Yes, the pink in the Miscanthus is only really noticeable if put next to another pink or red flower. Looking at my garden now there seems to be a fine line between pink and orange, as they blend together.
Your vase is stunning. I didn’t grow Cosmos this year, nor any thirsty annuals for that matter, and it missed them the most. They seem to grow wild and free sending out prolific blooms. It’s nice to enjoy your beauties here in the vase along with the other bright pinks and oranges of fall.
Yes, Christmas in the shops in September has become an all-too common occurrence. I’m turning my back for now. Glad you found yourself a lovely new vase on clearance. I love the unique shape.
Hi Alys, it is madness putting Christmas things in the shelves while we haven’t even had Halloween yet. Although Halloween isn’t really celebrated here, but just a commercial ‘season’ to improve sales of anything orange! LOL! I wonder if you could grow the colourful ‘Californian poppies’ without water? The name suggests they would like your climate….
I think the only way to stave off the early onslought of Christmas on the shelves is to vote with our pocketbooks. If people refuse to buy anything, then it will no longer be in the store’s interest to display it.
Halloween is a billion dollar business as well, with candy sales leading the way. Last year we gave out small bags of pretzels to over 300 trick-or-treators at our door. Since there are about 40 children on our street, you can imagine how wide-spread this occassion is.
California poppies are our state flower and can be seen growing everywhere in the spring. I had a few earlier in the year and should scatter more for next year. Thanks for the thought.
Wow! That’s a lot of candy! 300 kids?! I have never seen anything like that, must be fun, but it does seem to be getting out of hand.
I don’t know where they all come from, but they sure are cute in their tiny costumes. Participating in Halloween is of course completely optional, and their are many that simply turn out the lights and don’t answer the door or they go out for the evening.
I love the festive nature of the evening and though exhausted after three hours of passing out treats, I’m always ready to do it again the following year.
That sounds nice. We are clearly missing out here in Europe!
I don’t know about that. I think you’re all quite a bit saner than we are. 🙂
You have sun? Blue skies? Oh you lucky girl. We have woken to a dismal
grey world today here. I have used pink flowers today too but yours are really sparkling in the light. I like your new vase.
Thanks Chloris – blue skies do make a difference, especially with the photography! I always struggle to find enough light for photos indoors in winter.
This October pink is so beautiful, I love it in my garden, too! A perfect vase, as usual!
Thanks Anca! Enjoy your autumn shades of pink too!
Great! i was just thinking about pink … (pink-covered hey bales) 🙂 Pictures become deep with fore- and background like your picture with the acer in the back. Today is still a beautiful autumn day.
It has been a real ‘Altweibersommer’ here, and I hope we will get more sunshine for a couple more weeks!
Shared wish! 🙂
Great combo, Cathy. That cosmos is perfect, a last bit of summer to go with the autumn. 🙂
🙂 Summer and autumn really seem to have overlapped a lot this year!
Wow – your acer is amazing Cathy! And I like the grasses you have added to your other blooms – your cosmos looks SO pink to me as mine are all pale. but I must try some darker ones next year. Thanks for sharing
That cosmos was the only flower so far on my huge monster plant… I am not sure this one flower deserved all the watering and attention it got, but it certainly is a lovely colour! 😉
🙂
Your tree and your vase against the sunshine sky is beautiful.
The acer is always fabulous early October and really lights up the garden whatever the weather. Hope you get some sunshine today Sarah!
Acer’s are one of the beauties of Autumn along with sedums and asters. I look forward to seeing your aster in the future.I like the way you have placed a few leaves along the side of the vase.
I’m afraid the pink theme is continuing in my vase again this week!
The aster is sure to feature in another vase soon Brian! Perhaps I can tone it down a bit in a couple of weeks with some brown shades!
Your vase is very pretty, Cathy, but I love that Japanese maple! They’re marginal performers here, subject to leaf tip burn due to salts in the soil. They also struggle with the heat and the dry conditions. Despite the problems, I have 2 of them but they don’t color up as beautifully as yours either.
Our acer is well established now, and coped well with our drought despite my worries. It really is a highlight here in October and we love it too!
Such shots of Summer are a welcome sight as it is very autumnal here today. That acer is a stunner.
We have had several really calm days with blue skies and temperatures almost reaching the 20° mark, but very chilly nights so it is looking autumnal here too now.
I am always sorry to lose the Summer but I do love Autumn too.
It is lovely to see pinks in fall and especially in your vase Cathy….here purple asters are everywhere with yellow helianthus.
My yellow helianthus managed to flower after all the heat, but didn’t make much impact this year. Pink is definitely the predominant colour right now!
I love your photos.
Thank you! 🙂
That Acer is a show-stopper, Cathy! It’s absolutely gorgeous! And all your pretty pinks are beautiful in that lovely vase. I really love that Cosmos! 🙂
Hi Debra. We love the acer too! I hope it keeps its leaves another couple of weeks, but they do look pretty lying over the flowerbeds too when they fall. 😉
What a pretty arrangement in a gorgeous vase! And of course, I do love Cosmos! Your Acer is stunning!
Hi Kimberley! Thanks, the cosmos has produced a couple more flowers but the foliage is slowly turning yellow…. a sure sign of autumn!
What a beautiful vase and your flower arrangement is lovely! You have great ideas week after week.
Thanks Simone! I especially love the effect the grasses add at this time of year. 🙂
A very pretty vase that apart from the Acer leaves really looks very spring like.
Hi Christina. After lots of heavy rain mid-week our large acer at the end of the garden is practically bare now, so at least this little one is hanging on to its colours! 🙂
I like the difference in texture between the Cosmos and Sedum.
Sedum always provides interest – I never used to like them much but the insects love them and they are rather colourful in autumn. (And they are tough too!)