#8 Petunias Out, Pansies In

Today is a wet and gloomy day, but as I look out the window my neighbors garden glows with orange and yellow marigolds and my hillside still sports the tail end of goldenrod. The leaves haven't begun to change yet, but they are on the cusp of change. There are tinges and hints that soon the green will leave. Fall is a change of scenery in so many ways which is one reason I find it so refreshing. Even those well tended gardens of summer perk up with a Chrysanthemum makeover. Fall flowers tend to leave the red white and blue behind, and welcome gold, purple, orange and russet. I love fall colors! It was one of the things I missed when I lived in Florida.

Several years ago while I lived in that warmer climate I made a trip to PA in October. The poplars and maples were bright yellow. (You'll remember in a previous post that I love yellow.) When a breeze blew through the trees a shower of bright gold fluttered to the ground. The air shimmered yellow. It took my breath away.

I never felt like wearing a lot of rust, or orange in September when I lived in Tampa, but I had loved that aspect of the season growing up in eastern PA. That trip home was a reminder why Fall clothes work so well here, but not as well in the tropics. Here oranges, russets, golds blend in with the scenery.
And so do the purple and yellow pansies. The tired, leggy petunias are over. It's time for a Fall Makeover and the pansies, zinnias, marigolds and mums are just the thing to do the trick.