Here it is, the very last week of October and we are still dancing around a hard frost. There was a slight frost last week in the lower field and just a mile or two from here, in the valley, there was a good, hard frost. Rhode Island is a coastal state, as you know, but this garden is situated almost as far from the ocean as one could get in this state and this town boasts the highest elevation in the state. Frost does signal a winding down of gardening chores and it certainly stops most plant growth in its track. Frost doesn't tell the whole tale though as the impatiens have pretty much given up on flowering even though their stems are still green and juicy. The light levels are low and the shadows are long. There are always surprises in the garden even this late in the season. I spotted this violet blooming out of sync with its ususal bloom time.
The Acer japonicum f.aconitifolium is glowing in misty relief.
A walk in the woods brings up the scent of fall, the outline of the path, and the many shaped leaves on the ground. I am not the only one who likes the scent of fall.
The pups are having a great time with it also. There is no rushing Mother Nature. She does as she wishes and rarely looks at the calendar. What is your favorite part of fall, the scent, the light, the color, or something else entirely?