It’s been a very wet couple of weeks. First Irene dumped about a foot of rain on the Catskills and now another week of intense rain and more flooding.  The maples are blushing and the meadows are full of blooming purple Asters and Goldenrod.

There are Plume Poppies outside my painting studio-(Macleaya).  Raindrops sit like jewels on their bluish leaves and seed heads.

I am ready to see the sun again. For one thing the grass has tripled in height from all of the rain and there are so many chores to do in the fall in preparation for winter. I find myself counting how many more days I have to enjoy the green before the colors white and grey predominates the landscape.

This year, I am particularly aware of all the beautiful seed heads. I had never noticed the large pumpkin colored seed heads dancing above the Aesculus N. Paviflora before.   And the lime green pods of the Iris pseudacorus-yellow flag Iris are spectacular drooping towards their reflections in the pond.  For me, autumn in the garden is all about the beautiful fruits that appear on the trees and shrubs. I never have seen apple trees so laden down in fruit. A large 10 foot limb has snapped from the weight of its bounty in the orchard.  The fruit of the crabapple and the bright hips of the Rose Rugosa and Rosa Glauca make a beautiful show against the tired perennial borders. One last bow before the play ends.

Detail of Plume Poppy -Macleaya

Aesculus N. Parviflora – seed pods

Iris pseudacorus- yellow flag iris seed pods

Rosa Glauca hips