In my country garden early this morning there was a distinct hint of autumn in the air. Heavy dew covered all the plants with diamond drops, even those close to the house were decorated with tiny crystal jewels. The air was fresh and completely still and a light mist lingered over neighbouring fields.
I enjoyed taking these photos in the quiet moments before the day got going. I’ve found that when I take photos outdoors I really have to be quick to capture the moment. Conditions and light change in an instant. Soon the sun broke through and burnt off the last remnants of the cool night and the magic was gone.
On the deck we have a collection of summer plants in pots. I love this combination of orange flowers and foliage with red tints. In the summer border some of the roses have already produced bristly fat orangey red hips. I’ve grown most of these plants for years, sometimes in containers and often in the borders. They are all easy to grow and perform well. Choosing plants which all like the same growing conditions helps to unify a planting scheme. You can also pull a scheme together by using colour. It doesn’t have to be flower colour. Choose stems, buds, leaves and seed pods to blend in with your overall planting plan. In this case most of my plants have hints of red and orange with soft green/glaucous foliage.
The flowers and foliage are:
Row 1 Nasturtiums
Row 2 Rose foliage
Row 3 Euphorbia ‘Dixter’
Row 4 Setaria ‘Lowlander’
Row 5 Begonia
Row 6 Rose Hips
Row 7 Peppermint Pelargonium
New to me this year is the grass Setaria ‘Lowlander’. I grew it from seed in spring and now we have a lovely big patch of these plants with strappy leaves in various shades of green with red and brown tints. The seed heads look bristly yet they are soft to touch and they are packed with tiny green seeds. It’s a form of Millet similar to the dried treats you may buy for your pet Budgie. I’m hoping that some of our garden birds will enjoy the seeds this winter.
I’m linking with Judith at Lavender Cottage Gardening today for Mosaic Monday. If you like the mosaic of some of the flowers and foliage in my garden today then why don’t you have a go yourself? It’s easy! If you’d like to join in or just see what other bloggers are doing just click the link to Lavender Cottage.
Happy Gardening Everyone! 
What lovely photos of late summer. The heavy dews look so pretty on the foliage. Visiting from Mosaic Monday. Have a great week!
Thanks very much Lorrie. Hope you have a good week too!
Love the colour of red tints with green foliage! The water droplets are the finishing touch, bravo.
Thanks Kate. Nature did it all.
Beautiful….great captures!
Thanks MaryLou! I appreciate your comment.
Oooh, love the Setaria. How tall does it grow?
Yes it’s a lovely plant Jessica. It’s supposed to grow to about 90cm/3 feet tall but mine are about 60cm/2 feet. Perhaps if this summer was more like last year we’d have taller plants?
Beautiful Gillian. It has been hot here but recently cooled a bit and I see some foliage already changing…stunning photos as usual!
Thanks Donna. We’ve had up to 25C some afternoons but a few nights it has been below 10C. There’s a subtle change in the scent of the air that says get ready for autumn!
It takes a steady hand and a good lens to capture the dewdrops as you have Gillian. I have to stop pruning my roses now and let rose hips develop for winter but the shrub roses I have along the front pathway produce insignificant ones. A house I pass on my morning walk has a prickly rugosa rose with the biggest hips I’ve ever seen, likely the ones that are collected for rose hip jam.
Autumn is creeping in here too with cooler temperatures and leaves starting to turn.
Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.
To find the right balance between pruning for shape and flowers and leaving the rose alone for autumn hips can be tricky. Many of my roses are the old species shrub roses which form nicely shaped arching plants all by themselves (lucky for me!) Usually I just remove really old woody stems to help rejuvenate the plants. That rose hip jam sounds good. I’ve never tasted that but I remember Rose Hip Syrup was dished out by the spoonful in winter when I was a child.
It’s pretty autumnal here too! I love the Setaria ‘Lowlander’ – I may have to give that a try next year.
Setaria is really easy to grow. I can recommend it so far. I’m just waiting to see what the wild birds do with them when the seeds are ripe.
I love that each season has its own beauty. Your droplets on your flowers are just beautiful.
Thanks very much for reading and commenting Betty. I’m always amazed how quickly we can connect with bloggers overseas… amazed and delighted.