the constant change in the gardens

There have been a few changes of late in the gardens. After all, it is autumn--noticeably cooler in the mornings, warmer in the afternoons, darker later in the morning and sadly, darker earlier each evening. The blooms of summer are going to seed, their leaves are drying and will be crispy before long. On a recent trip to the cabin property, Jack and I noticed that the aspens are bright yellow, the maples are flaming red, and the oaks are still green. I've spent several hours at dusk this week trimming back the perennials--daisies, coneflowers, russian sage, salvia, lavender--and Jack and I spent a couple of hours one evening pulling up the blessed sunflowers that were started by one seed dropped by one bird. There are large piles of trimmings and sunflower stalks around the gardens that need to be gathered and composted. I still have half a dozen perennials to plant and several others to divide and move about the gardens to fill in bare spots. There's also a new bed that I finally found the time to clear out and prepare for planting, but I can't seem to settle on a plan for that space. If it doesn't come to me before the snow flies, I'll have all winter to think about it. There are pine needles and leaves to gather and mulch to put down. Like a child in the evening, my gardens need their dinner, their cleanup, and a warm blanket for the long night of winter.