Outside my kitchen window

I’m anxious these days to get in my vehicle and drive. It’s time to stop looking out my kitchen window and look upwards at all the beautiful fall trees with leaves of golds and reds.

Taking a drive with my husband, I was treated to a spectacular show of Mother Nature’s painting skills. In my area of Northeast Nebraska the trees are dotting the landscape in gold, burgundy and deep red. Along a mile stretch of a country road, three acreage driveways and groves are filled with trees that are flooded with color. I’m not sure when I’ve seen such deep red leaves on trees. it’s absolutely beautiful.

At home, the trees are a beautiful shade of gold with the recent rains turning the grass a bright green to reflect the shades of rust, yellows and gold leaves.

Just before a predicted freeze, the remaining annual flowers are ever so bright. Among them are drifts of white that I am so pleased with. I must have hit the right time to plant alyssum this year and the right conditions. It was pretty all during the growing season but now, with cooler temperatures, it is at it’s best. It is gorgeous.

October is the start of next year’s planting season. As birthdays continue to come around, it may be time to start to seriously fill the areas of the flower garden with more perennial bushes. Four hydrangeas are currently among perennial flowering plants with space for blooming annuals. It’s fun to watch their colors change in the fall.

It’s always interesting what you can add with shrubbery and still have color in your landscape. It, perhaps, is a good idea to research shrubbery you want to add to the garden.

A Kodak fresh (dievilla) just caught my eye on the internet. Pretty all season and just the right height so the bush won’t block the view of surrounding flowers.

If their five foot height doesn’t bother you, dogwoods provide lovely winter interest to the landscape. Artic fired red (red osier) promises red twigs through the winter months. The twigs would be equally pretty in vases inside the house.

When selecting shrubbery, there are some specifications of each type you need to explore. You may want to check height and spread, sunlight needed and of course, depending on where you live, deer resistance.

It’s also time to think spring and the fresh spots of color provided by spring bulbs. Daffodils, tulips, hyacinth and alliums are ever so fun. They are planted in the late fall.

Recently dug at our home and now stored for about the next eight weeks, are amaryllis bulbs. In late December, they are moved from the garage, planted in pots, inside to the house.

The amaryllis are fun to watch once the outdoor landscape has taken on its winter look. They provide beautiful stately blooms to brighten the house during the long days of winter.

If you didn’t save last year’s amaryllis, many stores have the bulbs available in November and December for purchase. They make great gifts but don’t wait to long to purchase them as they disappear from shelves quickly.

While we enjoy the color the trees are giving us this fall, there is always some aspect of the gardening world to think about. Next up will be clipping greenery for outdoor planters or picking up pine cones and using them for a winter centerpiece.

Until then, I hope you have time to look beyond your kitchen window and are able to enjoy the colored trees we have this fall.