…and the leaves change colors and the wind whips them through your hair and the tank tops decline in numbers as the sweatshirts take over and the colors inspire a last bit of effort to parade in your garden. You take the very last sips of summer before plunging into another season. You may have a few sunflowers hanging on while others tip their heads in reverence and wait patiently for the hungry little birds to pick their bounty. Scrub jays also claim some of the seeds as does the soil for next years crop. And each year you may notice that the stalks of the volunteer sunflowers stand sturdier because they’ve had to endure the elements. As you sit cozy in your house with hot tea and blankets and maybe a crisp fire to watch, all the plants who will re-seed are working hard to make it ‘til Spring.

…and the air is cool in the morning and evening but in the middle of the day, the sun reaches its peak in the sky and warms your arms and soul. And sometimes you find yourself just staring at your pineapple sage and those brilliant orange-red flowers and you nearly get hit head on by a hummingbird also enchanted by the blooms. The cooler nights enhance the colors of fall bringing their intensity up and you and your pointy nosed friend notice.

If you have a vacant spot in your garden with lots of sun, plant yourself a pineapple sage or a Mexican sage if you like purple blooms. Or plant one of each and have red and purple branches intertwine with one another. No fashion police exist in the world of flowers.

Fall is the season to be pleased with your garden and your labors of summer. You should feel happy that you planted something no matter how big or small your plot or your pot. Remember the tomatoes you canned, the zucchini bread you made and gave away, the pesto you created, the dead heading you kept up on with your roses and the weeding you did every week…

Okay, if you only picked one cherry tomato and it was the sweetest most delectable morsel you had all year or maybe all you did was watch the birds enjoy your garden– that’s enough.

          …until the next bloom…