There are so very many things I should have been doing garden-wise these past few weeks….getting fallen leaves off the plants in the rock garden, cutting back lots of dead  ugly stuff, raking , planting bulbs for spring display, putting away the gardenalia that can’t take our winters etc.  but really, I could care less. It feels too early to be putting the garden to bed so in protest I am not.

i wish I could say I have been doing fun and interesting things instead, but alas, Wil hurt his back and Faith has been undergoing some medical treatment that has kept me quite busy transporting patients too and fro while also  managing work and homelife . Kind of been a big bummer ,but we certainly have been through worse.

I hope next week to fit in planting the big box of bulbs that has been sitting in my office and tidy the front a little. I gave up on even trying to manage Halloween decorations, not even a single jack-o-lantern to be seen , so at least I won’t have to deal with the dreaded clean up ( in years I have gone whole-hog I certainly regretted it on November 1st) but if the weather holds I will get the winter lights up ( though NEVER lit until December) and maybe get some containers all decked out for winter too.

I have a few photos of some arrangements , I have been steadily plugging along at my goal to keep arranging until my 52 weeks are up on the Slow Flower Challenge and the biggest issue has been taking the photos believe it or not.

If the light is not good for photography when I make them , sometimes, well most of the time if I am honest, I just never get back to it. These last weeks of October and into November chrysanthemums are the stars and that is what is in these two. I also adore the foliage of the viburnums and although we have had many nights below freezing the foliage on a few shrubs, like the buddleias, still looks good.

The first is simple viburnum, buddleia and the just opening Copper Penny mum

This one is Sheffield mums, dara ( which is in it;s pot growing in the kitchen having been rescued from frost as I can’t get enough of it!) , heuchera leaves from ‘Magnum’ and calicarpa berries, and cardoon leaves which look fresh as ever despite the cold.

Using the same foliage, and mums, I added ilex ‘Winterberry Gold’ berries, rose hips and a branch of red twig dogwood for this little traveler that will go with us to a friends house tonight.

..and just as a reminder to myself to stop sulking that the season is over and to focus on the fact that it is time to  get moving  a  little throwback if you will to Halloween 2011 when we were hit by a heavy wet snow storm making clean-up a nightmare.,