An Alphabetical Autumn Stroll

A is for Asters with Amsonia. (even if the asters are no longer called asters botanically) An A+ combo for fall, as seen in the border outside of Brooklyn Botanic, museum side.


B is for the blueberry bush around the corner. What beats a plant that produces both fruit and fall color?


and C is for the cordate (heart-shaped) leaves of a Redbud cultivar, maybe 'Forest Pansy'. (Just the youngest leaves at the tips of the branches were this vibrant red, so I don't think it's the straight species, which is more typically yellow in the fall.)

All natives to North America and with the exception of the Amsonia, which grows wild in Oklahoma and Arkansas, all northeast natives to boot. Not too shabby a showing for a few square blocks in Brooklyn.

On Fennel

Late Instar of Black Swallowtail caterpillar

It's been an amazing few weeks for butterfly watching down at the community garden, today's caterpillar sightings included. If I'm lucky, I might get the chance to watch a chrysalis overwinter on some fennel volunteers (a pretty successful weed) in my garden or nearby. Today I saw a few different instars of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly in the caterpillar stage of its life cycle. While its unseasonably warm right now, I'm thinking that this must be the last generation of this species before our first frost here in New York. We'll see.

An earlier instar, methinks

Leaves and Seeds

The dogwoods on my brother's block look they have hit peak color for the season. Can you believe I was speaking with someone in the spring (who actually works in the business taking care of gardens) who didn't get why dogwoods are awesome and particularly in east coast gardens, where the plant is native? I'm not sure what I see that they don't, but for sure fall is a good time to lay your eyes on a Dogwood. It's also a fine time to go out looking for seeds and start dreaming about next year's garden.

Queen Anne's Lace seed head

A Day of Big Sun

monarchs and Bob's asters,

bigtime bugwatching and getting nothing done in the garden. Just my kind of day.

The More You Look

the more you will see and it doesn't matter whether you dig mushroom hunting, are just beginning to identify trees by their leaf shape or have recently discovered that there are Tulip Tree samaras at your feet and above your head in the canopy in the fall. The point really is just to focus your attention, if even for just a moment, on even just the square foot of earth where you happen to be and see if you aren't knocked out by how much there is to name and know just a little better, and by how ridiculously beautiful it all is.