Autumn in a Swedish garden

[SidW]

I went round the garden on 25th Oct thinking I'd get some autumn scenes. But the leaves were still green. There were flowers. The lawn needed mowing. It was more like a high summer of 30 years ago. I should add we live in the south, facing west, almost opposite Copenhagen, i.e. roughly the same latitude as Edinburgh.

To start with, here are some tender plants in pots that we hadn't brought in yet.


A Dahlia, with Fuchsias in the background



Brugmansia (Angel's trumpet)

Now on the 20th Nov it's much the same, 10C or more in the day, 5C or more at night. But the leaves have gone. We've had a couple of gales and plenty of wind otherwise, it's rough and wet. And we were caught by two days of ice and snow and temperatures of -5C for two days - that's when we brought the pots with tender plants inside.

I nearly forgot - taken on EOS 20D with 50mm/1.8 (35mm equivalent around 85mm) at about 1 meter. 200ASA.

Sidney

[John Parry]

We have a magnolia - one side has lost all it's leaves, the other is in blossom. Globally warmed - the plants don't know what they're supposed to be doing! Dahlias are late blossoming flowers though.

Regards - John

[herron]

Sidney:
The shot of the Dahlia seems almost jarring, for some reason, but that Angel's Trumpet is magnificent!

[SidW]

John, don't worry, the other half of the Magnolia should flower in the spring.

Yes, Dahlias will go on flowering into the autumn, but the end of October is a bit much in this area if you're hoping to keep them for next year. The Fuchias in the background are hardy but we take them in anyway. If they're planted out in the garden, they'll dry right down and start afresh from the ground next spring.

[physiognomy]

I like the Angel's trumpet shot Sydney... I always have trouble remembering the name Brugmansia because I knew them first as Datura... Oh well, maybe one day it will stick.

Peter

[SidW]

Thanks for looking. I'm not sure what's jarring about the dahlia picture, maybe it's the half sharp fuchsias in the background. I've seen that bokeh is not a popular word on this site so I'll leave it at that. In any case it's cut down now and is in winter storage. The black background to the Angel's trumpet is not due to flash use - it was standing in the porch with the flower in the sunshine and the rest in shadow.

The next picture is more in keeping with the time of year - same day in late October. It's almond fruits bursting open.

[John Parry]

So that's what almonds look like!

Good photo - great point of interest and a nice trail leading the eye towards the right.

Regards - John

[SidW]

Thanks John. What you see inside the the soft outer case is a nut-like shell that contains the almond kernel you actually use. These are bitter almonds that we don't have much use for, they just foul up the lawnmower.