Some Muted Fall Color

The hue doesn't need to be vibrant to catch your eye.  The browns and tans and hints of pink contribute to the appeal of this season too. 

💛 + 🌟's: ID'ing Leaves Shaped Like Lucky Charms Underfoot Today

If you find stars on the ground at your feet this autumn, an American sweetgum tree likely isn't too far away. And if you come upon a perfect heart-shaped leaf, one possibility is that it has dropped from another native, the Eastern Redbud.

Sourwood: A North American Native With Perfect Red Color This Week

This young Sourwood tree planted near a parking lot at Hofstra had the most perfect red, red leaves this week. It's definitely a plant worth seeing this season.

Bark of the Week

It's a tossup between the peeling, multi-shaded bark of the crepe myrtle and the silvery gray of a flowering cherry for bark of the week, at least for me.

Finally! A Monarch Chrysalis!

I've been searching for a Monarch Chrysalis for years and this morning I finally found one. And it looks like it's nearly read to break free and fly too.

Silver and Mustard-Gold Lichen

I'm not going to attempt to ID this mustard-gold and silvery-grey lichen growing on a wooden fence, nor do I know what type of tree the fence was made from. But I think it's pretty neat that there's a composite organism living on what was once part of a tree.

Ikebana on My Mind

I've never taken a class or workshop in Ikebana, but someday I'd like to. Perhaps it's because another Asian art involving plants, Bonsai, came up in conversation last night or maybe it was simply seeing the beauty of the grass inflorescence and tree branch on this beautiful fall morning, but the result is I now have Ikebana on my mind.

It's Hard Not to Think About a Bouquet

I find it hard not to think about a bouquet or some kind of dried arrangement when passing certain grasses in fall. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Breakfast Under a Japanese Maple in a Warm October Review

Five stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. A must this fall. I hear lunch might be worth trying also.

Weaving Not Weeding

I spent this warm October morning weaving some Willow branches for a nice change of pace.

Didn't Find a Chrysalis on the Milkweed (or butterfly weed)

I did bump into a Milkweed Beetle. One of these days I will see the monarch's chrysalis. At least I hope so.

Throwback Tuesday to this time in an October past

It's funny because the message from Google when it puts together these collages from days gone by is something like "relive this day", and when I see these plant photos, I actually can remember where I was on this day 6 years ago: two parks in Queens.

It's Late in the Year to Fall in Love, But Here I Go Again

I didn't think I would meet a new crush so late in the year, but when I got close to this jam-packed planter, I spotted some foliage that just knocked me out.

The slender silvery striped foliage made quite the side spiller in that planter, I thought and that was it for me.

Then I bumped into this sweet-looking fern again. 

At that Weeping Katsura Again

Often the camera and its operator are no match for the subject. One or even two pictures don't seem to capture the what it's like to come upon this graceful Weeping Katsura. Maybe someday I will have to do some photo "stacking" like the photographer did for the books Seeing Trees, (Flowers & Seeds).

I guess you could say the Katsura is still a favorite of mine and that I have fallen hard and fast for a few of them over the years ever since seeing my first one at Brooklyn Botanic.

October in New York via Japan and Many Millenia

One thing I like about gardening, horticulture or growing vegetables is the near constant reminder that most "cultures" we speak of, whether ancient or far away, are/were rooted in this practice. People have been planting, growing and altering plants for tens of thousands of years all over the world and just one teeny result is my delight in passing anenomes and Japanese Maple leaves while walking through Hofstra this October morning.

The Sun is Low Early Now

The sun is already low on the horizen early in the evening now, in this second week of October. The long days of summer are over and it won't be long now before the longest nights of the year are here.

Coming and Going

The view looks pretty sweet to me either way. Sometimes it feels like people plant things just to delight me. 

It Looks Like Autumn in New York

Even if it still feels more like late summer. Today's weather? Blue sky and yellow leaves.

Today's Weather

That yellow tulip tree leaf in a puddle at my feet says it's fall and pretty wet out today. Windy too.

Some Flower Visitors (Besides Me) From the Week

A monarch that hasn't headed south yet for the winter.

A fly that looks like a bee, possibly in the Syrphus genus.

And just one of the Painted Ladies from Friday mornings butterfly show. I wonder if these guys are migrating south now too?

Chasing Fall's Fleeting Color and Schmetterlings in the Morning

If you should spend at least one afternoon in summer chasing schmetterlings, it stands to reason that in the fall you shouldn't miss any chance to catch the season's fleeting colors while the getting is good.

While walking this morning, out of the corner of my eye I caught some vibrant fall color and had to make a detour just to get closer to it.

The detour to the Japanese cherry tree was doubly lucky and worth it then as I caught a Painted Lady butterfly show nearby too.

Some Roses

Its early October and some roses still bloom.

Others have dropped their petals, leaving star-shaped sepals in their stead.

Still others are in another stage entirely and already are bearing fruit.

Just Catching Some of the Last Light of the Day...

As the last light of the day comes earlier and earlier. Already the nighttime hours are longer than the daylight hours, though the weather in New York makes it still feel like late summer.

Bit of Early Autumn's Color at my Feet

I passed an oak leaf nestled in a bed of pine needles that had also dropped and a Dahlia that must have been something else in full bloom.

Some Scenery From This Sunday's Sidewalk Hike

Passing a yellow Hibiscus, for a second it was as if I was transported to Hawai'i.

This summer's annuals, like purple Angelonia, were still going strong while some freshly planted fall annuals were on display in sidewalk planters.

I guess you could say I took the scenic route to my dad's Dahlias? It wasn't over a river or through the woods but there was plenty to see without leaving the pavement.