What happened to October? How could thirty one days breeze by so quickly! The fall color was absolutely gorgeous this year. The many overcast, rainy days were great for picture taking, not so great, however, for seeing sun shine highlight and warm the golds, reds and oranges. The beautiful leaf show lasted a couple of weeks, now it's clean-up time.

I like to shred my leaves and distribute them on my garden beds. A friend gave me a few bags of aged cow manure, so I'm going to mix this with the shredded leaves on the beds as well as add some to my compost container. My plants should appreciate the added nutrients.

I bought some half priced spring bulbs at Meijer. I wanted to plant them in a place where I could see them from my kitchen window. The area is a little shady but I hope they'll have enough sun to flower. I had to pull out some ground cover and prepare the soil a little. I planted tulips, crocus, and alliums then covered the area with chicken wire so the squirrels wouldn't dig up the bulbs.

I got all the summer bulbs dug and my containers moved into the basement a few weeks ago. The Brugmansias and Glory Flower are enjoying the grow lights in the basement, they're blooming like crazy.

On Friday I'll have help cutting back the remaining perennials and putting away summer furniture and garden art.