It is definitely late  Fall in Maryland for this GBBD and for awhile I thought there not be much in the way of color hereabouts.  But the last few weeks have produced a shower of colorful leaves on many of the trees.  Of course for us, it’s mainly about the Maples.  The ‘Reznicek’ cultivar is one that I brought back from Michigan a few years ago when the annual meeting for the North American Rock Garden Society was held there.  This is the first year I’ve ever noticed the beautiful two-toned effect on the leaves.  Even without the coloring it has always been a special diminutive tree with finely laced leaves.

Just the ordinary Japanese Maples have also been having a colorful display lately.

Earlier in the month the Amur Maple was putting on a show of its own.

And right next to this Maple is the Beautyberry which had its own statement to make.

Berries are everywhere in the yard this year but it’s hard not to notice that the Blue Holly is absolutely loaded with berries.

I can only guess that this particular holly is having a good time with the American Holly or the English Holly since our attempts to plant a male Blue Holly have all failed.

But wait!  This posting is supposed to be about flowers.  

Most of the annuals have been frozen off at this point but there are still a few surprises in the yard.  The peas continue to chug along through the first frosts and may even yield a few more edible pieces.

And one of our reliable David Austin roses is ignoring the cold.

But mostly it’s Camellias.  It’s really their show for the next several months.  Anytime the temperature gets into the forties, the spring camellias will send forth a volunteer.

And then most of the time there are always some of the Fall Camellias in bloom, as we see now.

When you see flowering like this it is hard to accept that winter is coming any day now…

Just like this bluebird who is trying to decide whether to make another nest.