THE POWER OF THE PLANT

The mums I've been pruning all summer have finally flowered. Beginning in early summer I pruned them back a few inches three times total. The last pruning I did was in the middle of August. Perfect timing for autumn blooms!

The colors of autumn are warm against the crisp air. Muted, yet radiates such a glow. Isn't that the allure of fall?

This RL comforter set just replaced a blue Martha Stewart set and has warmed up the guest bedroom immensely. My cat Blaxter thinks I did it for him. He does look quite nice against the red.

Everyone feels compelled to tribute that day in their own special way. And rightfully so. We all remember exactly, exactly where we were, what we were doing, the bright blue crisp sky, on that moment of the first terrorist attack ever on American soil. I'll keep my thoughts with me. This is my tribute to remember those who perished and the families of those that live on with the horrifying yet heroic memories of their loved ones. Peace & Love always.

The sky is beautiful. The air is perfect. Cup of coffee in hand. Just took a look at my side yard tree and had to capture the moment. Glad I did. This is perfection to me!

My modern kitchen leads into an informal dining room with a large rustic table and chandelier (both from Restoration Hardware). I like the juxtaposition of clean white lines with the solidness of the wood table and iron from the lighting and wall decor. When mixing it up, do it drastic enough so that there is no confusion whether or not you were trying to match.

When I bought my Royal Empress tree it was a bare root with a bud, nothing more. That was 5 months ago (beginning of growing season for north east). I told family, friends and neighbors that a huge tree would appear here shortly. They all laughed at me (some people, MOM, even made financial bets with me that the little root with a bud would not grow beyond a few feet tall at most. I PROVED THEM WRONG!  My two Royal Empress trees (sold to me as sterile, non-invasive variety) have shot up to over 8 feet tall and the growing season has not ended. As you can see I am beginning to trim the bottom leaves little by little as the trunk matures. Can't wait to see the beautiful flowers they bare and I'm looking forward to continue watching these two trees reach toward the clouds. Btw…people stop in their cars to ask me what they are ALL THE TIME. They literally have become the talk of the neighborhood. Pretty fun stuff! (click on first image to see progression of growth) ...

My Day Lily's have been blooming non-stop throughout the entire season. I was expecting one bloom and then greenery. I believe the key is in the pruning. Weekly, I deadhead old flowers and trim away the yellowing leaves. Once or twice I even trimmed back some greenery so that each Day Lily plant remains in a round shape. It is now September and I still have blooming flowers!

Caught the morning. Caught the night. Love this moon!

The best part of September is the crisp blue sky, chill in the air when waking then a gradual warming of the day. The world always seems to have its saturation turned up a notch in September.

As summer moves along I find myself getting excited to feel the chill in the air, to smell the damp falling leaves and of course eat all the delicious foods we consider seasonally appropriate. We as in past years, I started baking autumn foods early. Just a little head start into the season. Below is my favorite cake. It's a chocolate pumpkin buttermilk cake with orange cream cheese frosting. Heavenly.

Last year's mums would have been a giant, leggy budded mess had I not diligently pruned each and every stem throughout the summer growing season. As the mums get larger and rounder the task becomes a bit more time consuming but the autumn show will be worth it. Here are 3 mums right before the third summer pruning today August 16th. I'll repost when they are in full bloom.

The cone flower is nice for a week or two but then gets very leggy and dried out. I do love the prominent center with its deep orange color. After the flowers began to fade I cut the entire plant back.  New growth shot up from the dirt.

Before we purchased a bed or remodeled the kitchen or even refinished the hardwoods, I spotted this little gem of a chandelier at Illuminations in Rockville Center. The moment I saw it I knew I had to have it! It reminds me of a chandelier I saw at Le Fanion ,   299 West 4th Street,  but more affordable. So here it is, the first of anything really that was purchased for our new home. We may have used sheets as doors and made coffee in the bathroom sink for a few months but you can't say our guest bedroom lighting was off kilter, can you?