A Little Garden Magic ~ First Frost Dahlias

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On September 28th, we had our first frost of the season and I knew that, even taking precautions, my dahlias would not make it… and I was right. I covered them with blankets but then next day, it started raining which totally undid any good the blankets may have done. So, with plans to dig them out this week, I had not checked on them. But today while bringing in some bags of soil for fall bulb planting, I noticed that the Hollyhill Black Beauty had three blooms. You can tell that the temperatures have caused the centers to lighten a little but otherwise, they are still beautiful, although not as big as they normally would be.

It made me so happy to find these. While I did not have that many issues with it, it was not very prolific so it was a bit of a let down. So this was a wonderful surprise.

For this vase, I used a simple white enamel tumbler-shaped vase and added sprigs of Indian Hawthorn, which I think goes perfectly with the color of the dahlias, especially the berries. The richness of the colors in this vase is pure autumn.

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And my obsession with Mobile Money app continues. lol. I just love the look of life in watercolor. :-)

Original Frosted dahlia

Original Frosted dahlia

Watercolor app effect

Watercolor app effect

heritage garden fall colors

This weekend, I made my way to Iowa to attend a fall barn sale and on the way back I stopped at one of my favorite places of earth— Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Garden. While the visitor’s center and store area closed for the season, the Heritage Garden is open to the public. And while the garden may be winding down, it has its own special kind of beauty. You can view the garden in all it’s summer splendor here.

Truly, the star of this garden is the dramatic amaranth with its deep burgundy color and hanging clusters. The color is so vivid that my photos do not do them justice. We also saw globe amaranth with its purple pom-pom like flowers, marigolds, and beans— which by the way, were using other stronger plants as a trellis. :)

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There were also beautiful lettuces, cabbages, kale and more. Zinnias and snapdragons are still giving this fall garden pops of color here and there.

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It was a quiet day but still, it filled my garden loving senses. The colors are so deep and rich, the smells heady— that scent of soil still working but a bit more lazily, the soil soft under the feet as you walk. It is an intoxicating combination. Being there reminded me of this quote and I hope these images make you feel the same:

“In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November.”
— Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden, 1905