There is less color everyday.
The once pink muhly grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris is fading faire.
Without their leaves, the trunks and branches of trees, like the native river birch, Betula nigra step to the forefront.
Shades of grey….
….And brown become the dominant hues. Bronze fennel, Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’ and Rudbeckia maxima seedheads against a late fall blue sky with the silver maple towering.
The sun plays peekaboo, appearing momentarily until hidden by a veil of clouds. Above are Prunella vulgaris seedheads in the sometimes sunny gravel garden.
It is as it should be as winter descends upon the land.
Frances
Fairegarden 
Looking forward to that first snow too. Have a great weekend.
Your picture of the Prunella vugaris piqued my interest since I was unfamiliar with the name and it displayed such a sturdy and interesting architectural form . This particular link contained lots of info and great detailed photos. http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artnov10/bj-heal-all.html However, I’m still not sure if I’ve ever seen the plant in person. The article made it seem like it was a common wildflower. What is your story on it?
Love your photos where you capture the drama of the seedheads against the sky. Of course, that meant that you probably went to extra physical effort to get that angle. Thanks for the visual treat!
Frances, I do believe that winter is going to stop by for a visit next week. A dusting of Christmas snow would be a good treat. We can hope and dream. I love winter browns at this time of year, they’re still tinged with gold, reds and lovely beiges. Your photo of Prunella in the sun is a delight! Such a wonderful wildflower…xoxogail
It looks fantastic even with the winter approaching.
We haven’t had a REALLY heavy frost yet. I’m ready for it to send everything dormant so I can get to cleaning! LOL
Winter weather will supposedly arrive here on my corner of Katy in the wee hours of Monday. Having lived in Texas, you know what a mixed bag winter can be here. When summer flowers continue to bloom alongside plants shedding leaves or dying back, we can call the the latter winter interest but it still looks just plain ugly alongside all that’s still lush and green!
I love the peeling bark on that river birch.
I think it’s snowing outside here–I’m pulling myself away from my computer now to go look. I’m getting a little excited! As long as we don’t have a huge snowstorm. A light snow makes everything look fresh, doesn’t it?!
Absolutely love the River Birch, the peeling bark is spectacular, a great photograph.
We have here in Australia a tree called ‘Melaleuca quinquenervia’ or ‘Broad leaf Paperbark’ it has a similar habit all the time, whatever the season, it’s white papery bark is reminiscent of fine sheets of paper, and was used for exactly that purpose by the aboriginals, it was also used by them for painting on…..their beautiful dot paintings, so widely sort after today….world wide. regards Sandy
Hi Frances, Maybe I was a bit remiss in not saying that the aboriginals that paint on bark, are Australian…and not New Zealand Maori. Maori paintings are quite different, though patterend, but in a stylised figurative way, they also make Totems similar to American Indians. kindest regards Sandy. ( glad you enjoy my imput, I just love Fairegarden, and all it involves, loved that brute of a rock you put in to your garden)
It is as it should be, but soon enough we’ll start looking for the color again. I hope we have a cold winter, by the way.