Friday, November 16, 2012

Dying

I am slowly accepting the fact (as I have many autumns before) that I cannot preserve summer's beauty no matter how well I plan or protect.  I did go outside yesterday and try to cut most of the new rose buds before we get our first frost...which currently is a long ways off according to the weather report.  When I pick the buds this time of year after they have held through the cold nights they usually last only a few days and burst forth into fat open blooms when placed in my warm house and in normal water.  By the end of the week they are dropping rose petals everywhere as if throwing confetti to remind me the party is over, but to compensate for their messiness, they smell really, really sweet in the autumn!  Their short lived beauty is a reward.


Even though I cannot choose colors or sizes of blossoms at this time of year for the perfect asymmetrical bouquet, they do give me pleasure in their simple country style as I clump them together.  It is a more comfortable style...like winter slippers.

Later in the same afternoon I peruse my summer annuals outside, and even though they are retreating from the weather, I think they still have a certain beauty about them.  These zinnias look a little like impressionistic paintings done by the artist who saw the perfect flowers earlier in the month and then attended a carnival that evening.   Upon waking he grabbed his bright paints and did these.



As I venture further into the more open fields where the weather is harsher I find that even the end of the wild flower has its perfect moment before snow brings her down.  (I do not know what these are/or were.)


Each season certainly has its own reward.

18 comments:

  1. smiles...love the last bit of color you found..the roses are really pretty....and i dont even have to close my eyes to be able to smell their sweetness...

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  2. it is hard to keep summer or beauty.

    lovely share.

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  3. There is an absolute beauty in dying flowers. You've illustrated that well.

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  4. I'm going down to pop something in the oven with those roses, that lovely nosegay, kept in my mind. Simply delightful. Yes, time to whack down the bushes, time to dry the flowers, to preserve the fruits, to prepare for the coming cold months. You show us so well.

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  5. Your arrangement of the roses is so elegant. Didn't realize that roses smell sweeter in the autumn. I was noticing that on my knock-out roses yesterday.

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  6. Great that you share your photos and thoughts with us who have had a month of wintry weather to this date.It makes us feel so much better.

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  7. Your words perfectly summarize the transitional period between autumn and winter.

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  8. Beautiful...I love the look and feel of fall. The pics you captured really share the sights of the season.
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  9. I was talking to my brother on the phone yesterday and he seemed preoccupied. I ask what he was thinking about and he said, "I'm standing outside looking at our beautiful mums and wondering if they will survive another night."

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  10. I hope I die as gracefully!

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  11. From the bouquet to the last nubs, beautiful photos, this is always my favorite season.

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  12. I love the end stages of flowers, the seed making. I never minded leaving stuff going to seed, always found a beauty in it. a photographer friend of mine took photos of tulips bought fresh and then left in the vase, dried up. those images of the dried and desiccated faded tulips were beautiful.

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  13. Gorgeous roses in a beautiful aquamarine-tinted vase. All colour seems to have gone out of the UK right now. In the north-west we are living in a grey, dreich, misty world. So it is lovely to see your flowers. Every Blessing

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  14. I have a few rose buds on the one remaining bush that lived in this damp area. No frost for a few days and I am watching them...

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  15. wow! we are well past such summer glory but thanks for the reminder of how sweet they are.

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  16. Gosh - glad your post was just about the blooms dying - you scared me! I'm enjoying the pics of your remaining flowers.

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  17. It's nice that you are still getting roses and zinnias in your garden. I guess it won't be for much longer. Which state are you in? - Dave

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Glad to hear from you once again. I really like these visits. Come sit on this log and tell me what you are thinking.