going for the gold: the last gasps of autumn
THE ACTIVE SEASON ENDS AS IT BEGAN: with splashes of gold, as if to warm and reassure me. No, there are no Narcissus or winter aconite, like at the other end when things wake up (remember the gold springtime slideshow?), but even the humblest plants like Rosa rugosa (above) try to perk me up with last-ditch positive notes (my 2010 season-ending fall gold slideshow covers that). A tomato-red rose hip here and a golden leaf there helps, and right now, I’ll take it–along with a few more sunsets like the one last night, with just a little vein of gold:
More:
- Listen to this week’s podcast on the subject, streaming on your computer, or get it from iTunes free.
- Spring gold slideshow
- Fall gold slideshow
Margaret – they’re also great for juice and for tea. I don’t know how to make the juice – I’ve only bought it in cartons, but the hips can easily be dried and dropped into hot water to make a tea any time you feel like it.
I did a fun blog on rose hips recently. Your picture is wonderful. It would be fun to learn how to apply the rose hips to our everyday life. Have heard that boiling them and adding to teas is a wonderful way to get the benefits.
Hi, Collie. I have not made jam or syrup or the various things I know you can do with them. Good to do some homework — you are right. “Mother Earth News” has some articles, I see, and “The Herb Companion” has a list of recipes and more.
Beautiful sunset! We don’t see many of them here, tucked in between the hills. Most of our trees and shrubs are now leafless, but I still have beautiful reds and golds on my Anthony Waterer spirea, fothergillas and the dwarf berberis called Sunjoy Gold Beret.
I so love Rugosa roses and that show is beautiful. Although I don’t have any rugosas as of yet, I grow Rosa Glauca for much the same reason that I love rugosas – the amazing fall appeal. My Rosa Glauca is covered with hips. Our fall here in the Intermountain West has been wonderful but the first big storm has hit tonight so I fear it is nearing the end of the beautiful fall colors and medium cool temps. Snow is expected soon…
I think it is because you are having a late-ish fall that your colors are synced up with ours on the other side of the continent in our zone 7/8 clime. I was admiring our golden rugosas yesterday and found one with both a hip and a final white flower. All the while it sported those “butterscotch” leaves. Sometimes we miss the best fall displays because of torrential rains but so far we have been relatively dry and so the colors abound. So sorry to hear about your lilacs. I thought them to be tough plants but will have to follow their fate to know for sure.
We have had a glorious Fall in the Chicagoland area! Just when I think all the color is done, another group of trees turns! There are lots of yellows still and an amazingly bright red tree in a yard down the street. Such a wonderful time of the year. Lots and lots of eye candy for those of us who look…..
So beautiful. It looks like what the English call a Mackerel sky. Below is an interesting description.
https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Sometimes-a-bit-fishy.htm
Yes, the rugosas are wonderful right now. Golden orange against all the gray.