Mears Garden news- Summer week 10.5- August 27, 2009

There are many signs that fall is here. I might even put up a second poll this week about your favorite.

School is open, both in the neighborhood and also at the University. Parking is more difficult. There are more obstacles downtown of an evening.

Football is on the television, even if the games don’t yet count. Before you know it Saturday morning will echo with the distant sound of the marching band.

There is a chill in the air. It is going down to 44 degrees next week, according to the alarmist weather forecast.

Then there is the fact that the daylight has disappeared, particularly in the morning. This morning was cloudy. It was still dark at 6 o’clock. I guess that is because sunrise is not until about 6:30. And it is still August.
Then there is my biggest and most certain sign of fall. The leaves have begun to fall. In our yard they fall for months. The buckeye tree is first. The leaves have to fall so that the nuts (buckeyes) have a clear shot at falling on someone’s head. Those leaves have been coming down already. That is to be expected in late August. This year the big elm tree in the front yard is losing its leaves already. I think that is early, but I do not really keep track of this.
We will have leaves coming down until the sycamore tree finally lets go of its leaves in December.

What do you think? If the poll doesn’t cover your favorite sign of fall, tell me what that is.

So how about some pictures. There are still some good ones from the garden.

First here is one of the first toad lilies of the fall. There should be toad lilies for several months. They are the jewels of the fall garden.













Here is the mysterious inside of another water lily. The world of the miniature is something special.















This is one of the last daylilies. It is all the more appreciated, as it is almost alone.















Finally here is the white brugmansia blooming, dangling in a way to frustrate the passing bee. Every once in a while I see one who sometimes can’t quite figure out how to get into the blossem.













So what do you like this week? Last week you liked the morning glory. I should really see how that picture would turn out if printed on 12 by 18 paper.

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In the bonus pictures there is butter art. We went to the State Fair last Friday. Everyone knows about the butter cow. It is there every year. This year, to commemorate the moon landing, there was a butter Neal Armstrong. Here is a picture of the butter TV console with the real picture of the moon landing inside.





























There are also pictures of a few odds and ends from the garden, including a daylily seedpod, still on the vine, and one that has opened, revealing the daylily seed.












































Enjoy the cool temperatures.
Philip