Fall 2008 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The sunny weather the past couple of days enticed me to go out and take some pictures of fall in my yard.  Fall carries the memories of summer past, winter that is coming all too soon, and the promise of spring to follow.  If you just look for the clues, they are all around you.

American Dogwood

Nandina.  The birds eat these berries in the winter, when they are fully ripe.

The last rose of summer.  We had our first hard freeze early this year, about a week ago.

Dianthus, like pansies and violas, bloom in spring and fall, and carry their blooms through winter.

This is a wildflower (aka, weed) growing next to the ditch at the edge of my property.  I'm not sure what it is. The flowers are done and what you are seeing is, in fact, seeds.

A wild aster that has gone to seed.

At this time of year, there are a lot of pine cones and gum balls (gum tree seed balls) underfoot.

Surprising that the geranium is still blooming.  Usually a hard freeze is the end.

This reminds me that it is time to put the amaryllises in the shed until early spring.  They can take frost, but not temperatures down in the 20s.  We will bring them into the house at the end of February or beginning of March and they will produce gigantic white flowers with pink blush throats.  Amaryllis is truly one of the showiest forced bulbs.

I don't know what this is.  It grows next to the back door and smells very sweetly, yet it has only these tiny white flowers.  It will bloom again in January, when you are sure nothing could be blooming.

I think this is Russian olive.  By Christmas, these green fruits will be dark purplish-black.  Nothing seems to eat them, I guess they are all seed and no fruit.