Looking back on photos from high summer, I can’t help but see that in August the light was almost harsh in its brightness.  Now it is as if a dimmer switch has been used.  The light has softened.  It is all warm and fuzzy, and, well…mellow.

Here’s Rosa ‘Roald Dahl’ to explain what I mean.

Even when the sun is shining, the colour is buttery soft.

Maybe it’s the surrounding green.  Gone are the vibrant greens of lime and chartreuse and pea-green.  Their fresh tones have matured to bottle-green, sea-green, and sage-green.  The more sober greens.

These murky greens are a wonderful foil for the fewer flowers.  Here is Geranium ‘Crystal Lake’.

There is the odd burst of freshness.  Here is Agastache ‘Blue Boa’.  I love the way the blue and indigo flowers stand out against the apple green foliage.

All summer long I have been singing the praises of Geranium ‘Anne Thomson’ (see Generous Geraniums and A Midsummer Night’s Dream).  This is both the longest flowering and most prolific flowering geranium I have.  It also happens to be my favourite in terms of colour, texture and flower-form, which is all very handy.  Here it is florifering on, the Duracell Bunny of the Geranium world.

‘Anne’ has an equally dedicated and hard-working colleague, Rosa ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’.  She’s throwing out blooms as if there were no tomorrow.  She seems to be entertaining a visitor.  He seems unaware that his stripy behind is in full view.

No one has told Rosa ‘Lady of Megginch’ that it’s nearly October.  She’s throwing out a profusion of new flower buds.  They are almost as handsome as the full-blown blooms.

Speaking of full-blown blooms, I love speckles on the back of these ageing petals of Rosa ‘Jubilee Celebration’.  Let’s hear it for age-spots and blemishes!

Geranium ‘Blushing Turtle’ is making the most of the sun.  As if those fine-lined, sparkly petals weren’t enough, look at the raspberry-pink style and the icy blue stamens.

There is a lovely new nest of Aquilegia foliage.  I love the scalloped leaves and their shadows.  And do admire my inky blue, jade green and turquoise Bokeh.

Salvia x superba is having a second flush.  It seems to be radiating waves of sage green.

And here, even more beautiful, backlit and draped in spider silk.

To round off my soft and mellow post, look at the lovely buds behind ‘England’s Rose’, and the smudge of leaves.  And the white edging to the petals.  They have a fine tracery of veins, and they glow with pink at the centre.  This is the rose who was sulking all summer.  Not any more. It has decided to be a little more proactive.

It seems fitting to feature the pear tree.  It is ponderous with pears.  Pears are the most mellow of fruits.  Though their soft and buttery stage is all too fleeting.  They are the most capricious of fruits.  All too soon they are brown and squelchy.

And so too is autumn, the most capricious of seasons. Whilst it is mellow, I will enjoy its golden light.

One of my lovely readers said that my blog is a daily dose of tranquillity.

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