Cooler days and chilly nights have arrived in Southern New England. After five months of temperatures above 85 degrees, I am just loving autumn weather. It’s nice to put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved tee shirt for a change and feel comfortable. Even warm socks are feeling just fine. Four inches of rain fell last week, so the dormant lawn has woken up after its drought-like summer and is now a deep, rich green with fall roses.

Acorns are falling out of the oak tree over my driveway and are tinging off the cars so plentifully, it almost sounds like a miniature steel band. Maple seeds are swirling out of their mighty mothers and the air is thick with these mini-helicopters spinning to the ground on the fall breezes. The leaves are beginning to turn colors of bright red, yellow, orange and russet.

Even the air has a rich autumn fragrance to it… leaves, seeds, and delicious rose.

Fall Roses: A Feast for the Senses

This is the time of year I can’t resist cutting rose blooms and bringing them into the house to enjoy. All summer long, I leave them in the gardens for friends and passers-by to enjoy, but now is my time to marvel at their beauty in a vase or two.

It takes longer for the blossoms to mature this time of year because the days are getting shorter. The plants are reaching for the minimal sunshine and slowing down. The buds grow absolutely enormous and then slowly open into big, voluptuous blossoms.

These roses enjoy the coolness of the fall air and some will last up to two weeks in the vase. It takes them such a long time to develop that they are loaded with energy!

All the colors deepen this time of year, and the fragrance becomes much headier. Fall roses are a feast for the senses. I even love stroking their petals when I bring them in.

October Rose Garden

I stopped deadheading my roses in the beginning of September to help them ease into the cooler time of year. The fall garden is not as pristine as the summer rose garden, but then there are these spectacular blooms to visit, smell, and enjoy!

October is a transition time in my rose garden. There isn’t much to do in the way of work until it’s time to cut my ladies back for the winter. This is a wonderful break for rosarians like myself who spend as much time as possible in the garden all summer.

I still go out to visit them several times a day, but in the fall I’m also drawn into the house for my Autumnal Nesting Period. It’s time to wash curtains and windows and bring my houseplants and orchids in because their their summer vacation is finished for this year. Next month, we’ll be back outside cutting back the roses in anticipation of winter. Till then, bring some of your lovelies in to enjoy!