APPRECIATING AUTUMN

Gosh, it's been such a busy week but I still can't figure out why. I'll put up my Friday Finds in a bit but I've had this post ready to go most of the week and failed to hit "publish" on it until today.

We are officially past the peak of autumn color here, but I think it has been a particularly beautiful fall. I couldn't let it pass without sharing a few photos.

Acer japonicum actonifolium never disappoints. In fact I'm seriously considering adding another of these beautiful trees to my yard.

This maple is always a stunner. I can't get enough of its bright orange leaves on days when the sky is a deep blue.

This is what it looks like when you peak up its skirt.

Many of its leaves have fallen. Right now our entire "front" yard is awash in yellows, reds and oranges. There is barely a bit of green to be seen.

And this is what happens at my house when you try to get arty and lay on the ground to take a picture of all the leaves.

 I hope you're having a beautiful autumn as well.

Orange you wanting to put Tangerine Tango in your garden?

Cue the collective groan. Who can pass up a good "orange" pun?

It's just my way of telling you to make sure to catch my guest post at The Design Confidential about how to incorporate the Color of the Year (Tangerine Tango, but for purposes of gardening we're calling it orange) into your garden.

In it I lay out a little bit of color theory on how to make orange work (or figure out why it might not be working the way you're currently using it) and include a list of orange plants you might want to put in your garden this year.

Check it out and let me know what you think either here or there. How do you do orange in your garden?