Travelling is wonderful, but nothing beats being at Glen Villa on a perfect autumn day, when the air is clear, the sky is blue and nothing in particular has to be done.
This morning I walked around the garden, my first walk-about in three weeks. A few flowers are still blooming, like the never-say-die sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’
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| Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is still going strong in mid-October. |
The bergenia I planted this spring to complement the aqueduct is showing its full fall colour.
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| Which name do you prefer, bergenia or pigsqueak? |
The peegee hydrangea that was here when we bought Glen Villa in the mid-1990s is doing its normal stuff, turning from white to cream to blush pink.
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| Old reliables like peegee hydrangeas: what’s not to like? |
When colour fades, texture remains. This sage leaf caught my eye this morning. Tomorrow it will be stuffing the turkey.
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| M-m-m good. |
The coneflower stopped blooming in late August but the seed heads remain, prickly against the soft green behind.
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| Echinacea seedheads add texture in the fall, and stick out from the snow in winter — if it is not too deep. |
We’ve passed the prime of autumn here in the Eastern Townships. As you can see in the photo below, many of the trees have already lost their leaves.
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| A week ago most of these trees would have been scarlet and peach. Too bad we missed it this year. |
But not the witchhazel. It blazes out against a bright blue sky.
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| Hammamaelis, or witch hazel, looks like gold against the sky. |
Even the plants in the planter boxes on the deck still have interest, especially for the bees.
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| I used curly parsley in the planter boxes this year — it looked good all summer. I love the bright green and the texture. I’ll use it again next year. |
Autumn always contains a touch of sadness, or nostalgia for the summer that has gone. The empty bench below, under the old maple trees, looks lonely. But aren’t the colours glorious?
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| This bench washed up on the beach a few years ago. I never tried to find an owner — the bench is very simple and I fell in love with it right away. It’s a perfect place to sit and watch the waves on the lake. Or to rejoice in the season. |
To Canadian readers, Happy Thanksgiving! To those who celebrate the harvest at another time, happy wishes in advance.
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| A long view across the lawn to a sculpture by Louise Doucet and Satoshi Saito. |
Pat, your photos are superb. Thank you for sharing your love of Glen Villa with us all.
Thanks, Louise. I do love the place!
Definitely pigsqueak! And I would love to know the story on that 😉
I’m glad you asked about the story — I had to look it up (thank you, UTube) and now know that the name comes from the sound the leaves make when you rub them between thumb and forefinger. I’ve just tried it — and it works! With slightly damp fingers, rubbing fairly hard, the leaves produced a very piggy oink.
A bit slow on this but I finally made the connection! It goes back for me to the Johnston’s on one property, Bradley’s on the other and Jeff Johnston told me all about the Glenn Villa. Picked up a fair number of bottles etc. by the brook. We even walked right up the brook one day to its source or pretty close, absolutely beautiful back in there. Then the Johnston’s moved up to Eric’s level; great time in the pool. This was a beautiful property to begin with and now you have transformed it something of a treasure. It was over twenty years ago since I have been down that road and actually ran into Norman looking for Willie and Thomas Riglar. I have really enjoyed these pictures and as always brings back the memories. Thank you!
Robert, I’m glad you made the connection. Many years ago I also walked up the brook, simply wondering where it went. Now we have a path through the woods and we walk and snowshoe along the stream regularly. It is beautiful. Willie comes to North Hatley for most of the summer; Tom is in Vancouver now. Where do you live?