Bringing the houseplants in

Posted on November 19, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Cold, Garden, Houseplants, Outside, Plants, SummerLeave a comment

Our houseplants have always sat on the kitchen window sill but they had to be unceremoniously chucked out while we had the kitchen and bathroom replaced. Some of the plants had been here since we moved in about 24 years ago. They were old, battered, pot bound, but they had survived. Anyway the upshot was they all sat outside in the hot summer sun and got watered when the other plants outside were fed and watered. They were all close to the house with lots of plants surrounding them so they were sheltered.

It’s getting cold finally this autumn The forecast is for cold weather and winds from tomorrow. The other garden plants are fading so it was time to get them back in.

What we found were plants that had outgrown their pots, or ones where part of the plant had crisped and died, but the other side was covered in new growth. So they are all back inside now. Tucked into new pots, with found objects as trays underneath to stop water leaking onto the window ledge. I’ve used a couple of old teacups for the Christmas cactuses that Richard bought a few weeks ago. They are already in flower.

So we have a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom full of plants ….. They might go outside again next year.

Progress!

Posted on November 12, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic, Acrylic on canvas, Art, Autumn, Design, Green and brown woman, Leaves, Shape2 Comments

She’s almost done. I’m just trying to get a bit more of a 3d effect. I’m liking the more sombre colours but I’m putting a glimmer of gold into this. The face is quite controlled, I’m trying to go for a medieval look. Hope you like it (and the person who has commissioned it)

Reddish

Posted on November 8, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Flying leaves, Leaves, Poem, Red, Reddish, RussetLeave a comment

Red leaves sprawl on the ground. Reddish brown flights of fancy.

Reddish butterflies spin and whirl. Red and yellow stir the air.

Rubera and Ochre and verdant green. Colours of Autumn shape the world. Russet fingers fling outwards.

Brown’s burn to red, fire and gold. Blackened and rotting as cold and rain dampen their crisp outlines.

Give back to the soil, returning to earth. Wilderness and suburbs mashed together, following the floating leaves down stream to the sea.

Life renews, water falls, tree branches lie dormant until warmth returns to rebuild their leaves from the air we breathe.

Acers

Posted on October 21, 2018October 21, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acer, Autumn, Autumn colours, Beauty, Bronze, Copper, Crimson, Gardening, Gold, October, TreesLeave a comment

I took lots of photos of these trees at a garden centre in Wales. Small and perfectly formed, their colours seem to glow against the dull grey sky. A shaft of sunlight makes the colours explode. Glorious and wonderful.

A lot of the leaves are palmate, meaning hand shaped. The leaves are strongly divided into thinner and thinner strips of crimson red or deep yellow at this time of year. We have an acer in our garden but it always seems to have a white sheen to it. I think it is in the wrong place next to a bigger tree which is robbing it of moisture. I sometimes water it to try and help. It changes to a very dark deep red in autumn and its leaves are less indented, more maple like. With the sun shining through them this morning they look bronze or copper coloured.

Trying haiku

Posted on October 15, 2018October 15, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Fall, Gold, Haiku, Leaves, Poem, PoetryLeave a comment

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I just thought I would try…syllables 5-7-5….

Glowing embers shine
Flying leaves heat the cold sky anew
Autumn falls golden

Autumn view

Posted on October 14, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Autumn, Colours, Trees2 Comments

Autumn is flying in on strong winds.

I tried to paint its rapid journey. You could almost see the colours changing in front of you as the trees blew in a warm wind from the south.

I ended up with quite a pointellist painting. Lots of tiny dots of colour. Difficult to get the shapes of the branches and limbs right.

Leaf fall

Posted on October 11, 2018October 11, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Cloud, Colours, Flying leaves, Leaves, Poem, Poetry, Rain, Weather, WindLeave a comment

Crash.! Copper leaves rattle to the ground,

Metallic green willow leaves whirl around,

Dizzy spinning red acers, palm shaped, flutter into drifts.

Glowing gold Oak petals shimmer by the canal.

Hidden deep in a pile of leaves a cat waits to pounce on a wood mouse.

Flying like snow the fiery beech leaves burn into the blue sky.

Evergreens wave in envy, wishing they could change colour too.

Waiting for winter the trees stand proud, their autumn uniforms shimmer and billow.

Soon the gaudy clothes will be gone, and nude and chilly the trees will await a soft green spring.

Autumn

Posted on October 8, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Chlorophyll, Colours, Fall, global warming, Leaves, WeatherLeave a comment

Or Fall as it is also called.

About this time of year in the Northern hemisphere (and six months before or after in the Southern hemisphere) experience a change in season from Summer to Autumn. The nights start to last longer than the days, and the further north you go the shorter the days get.

The heat from the Sun cannot warm the North as much, so as the heat of the day dissipates into the atmosphere as the sun sets the temperature starts to drop.

In towns where buildings hold on to heat the temperature at night can be a few degrees warmer than in the countryside.

Now comes the season of “mists and mellow fruitfulness” and when there is a high pressure system over the land and the winds and breezes drop. Then on cold mornings a mist or fog can be caused by moist air close to the ground. Sometimes the mist is accompanied by frosts and leaves falling from the trees can glisten with ice crystals as the sun breaks through the clouds.

Each day and night the chlorophyll is sucked from leaves back into the main body of the plants leaving yellow and red pigments behind such as xanthophyll.

These days, with global warming, the leaves stay on the trees for weeks longer. In my childhood they would all have fallen by 5th November when we have bonfire night here in Britain, now they can still be on the trees by the end of that month.

One problem this causes is that we get storms from the Atlantic which rush across the country. They can buffet the trees and the leaves act like sails.

We have had violent winds that tear limbs from trees and even blow them over. There gave been a series of storms which have done damage over the last few years. There is also a strong link between plant diseases and warming of the atmosphere. As the temperature rises sickness such as Sudden Oak death and Ash die back are moving up the country.

A report today by scientists stated that the world is set to overshoot its 1.5°Celsius target of global warming and may exceed 2°C or even 3°C.

The changing seasons could have a devastating effect on the world. We may enjoy the beauty of fall but we should guard that world for our children and their children’s children.

Cold

Posted on October 6, 2018October 6, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Blogging, Cold, Humour, Life, Spode, StudiosLeave a comment

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The chill cold of autumn has penetrated Spode studios this weekend, the high ceilings prevent the warm air produced by heaters in each makers studio from keeping the chill air out. As soon as you open your door it escapes like a hot air balloon. If we had our studios in the roof space we might be warmer. The studios are little wooden boxes like hermits cells sprung along both sides of corridors that meander off around corners Some of the studios are open, without false ceilings and these get even colder unless you put industrial sized hot air blowers on. The studios with windows are single glazed with either wood or metal frames. Some have louvers to allow air in. Even when they are closed they let cold air in.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining, just explaining. There are a few warmish spots, like the kitchen if you shut the door.

Each studio that does have a false ceiling also has a layer of insulation above it. So you can actually be warm there…. But walk along the corridor when it’s cold and your breath steams. If you make yourself a coffee in the kitchen it could get cold just walking back to the studio.

One architectural novelty are the curved, almost barrel vaulted ceilings along parts of the corridor. I have never seen anything like it before. Great waves of concrete curve like giant corrugated tin above you. But the wavelength is far longer. Its a very interesting building to work in… But did I mention… Its cold ❄

Which is why I have used a warm picture of autumn flowers to illustrate it.

Twisted photos

Posted on October 6, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Colours, Flowers, Photos, Poem, Trentham, WaterLeave a comment

I’m at it again, can’t resist. Loving autumn colours, and autumn mist.

Spent the day shooting, not animals but flowers, its easy to play around in floral bowers.

The lakes a stunner, full of ducks and drakes, and the gardens cafe makes lovely cakes.

Swans are skulling slowly across the water, seeing them is awesome, they don’t falter.

So now it’s autumn, colds and chills await, winter is a coming, and the flowers fate.

Coming to the garden, death will take a ride, and the pretty flowers will have nowhere to hide.

So come and see the garden, come see the show. Before the autumn’s over, and it’s too cold to grow.

Yes then all will be compost, thrown away my dear, and we will have to wait again, at least till next year!

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Autumn