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Leave Some Fall Garden Litter for Butterflies!

© Naomi Mathews

Fall is upon us once again in my little corner of the world. In mid-October, I saw the bright green summertime leaves of my white birch tree slowly begin to turn a dappled pale yellow color. Now it's early November in our beautiful area of Eastern Washington, and its myriad leaves have blended into a lovely color resembling freshly churned butter. Only a few leaves have fallen thus far, but it won't be long until they will fall en masse' and cover the grass beneath this stately tree. Then its branches will appear stark gray-white against the chill blue winter sky, waiting for the first snowfall that's bound to blanket them by mid-December.

Then there are the dark green leaves that graced my pink flowering dogwood tree from early spring to late September that are now sporting a stunning mix of reddish-burgundy hues. Many of those curled leaves have already fallen, just waiting for a brisk wind to scatter them across my flowerbeds nearby. OR, perhaps they're waiting for me to rake them into a neat pile along with the flaxen leaves of my aggressive wisteria and place them in a compost pile.

Yes, fall is definitely here--one of my favorite seasons of the year. My trees, butterfly bushes, roses, rhododendrons, azaleas, peonies, columbines, hostas, wisteria, daylilies, and many other perennials and shrubs too numerous to mention are ready to hunker down for their winter rest. Soon I'll be donning my gardening garb, rounding up my pruning shears, my rake and wheelbarrow, then heading out to do my fall pruning and cleanup before Old Man Winter descends with fervor.

However, I am still enjoying a few exquisite last roses of summer, and am not too anxious to prune those just yet. The golden and russet foliage of my peonies is gorgeous against the backdrop of the gray fence in our back yard. Peach and pink chrysanthemums in full bloom are peeking out between some of the faded roses in the front flower bed. The mums are still thoroughly enjoying the warm afternoon sunshine that follows our now chilly November nights.

As I look out my windows and survey these bursts of beautiful fall colors, I also recall those exquisite black and yellow Swallowtail butterflies that so regularly frequented my buddleias this summer. "Where have they gone for the winter?" I wonder. Neither am I seeing my dainty little Sulphur butterflies that daily hung around my dianthus, hydrangea, lantana, sweet woodruff, petunia, geranium, and verbena blossoms. And what became of those fluttering fritillaries I was so excited about seeing this summer?

WhiteBirchFall	DogwoodFall	Peonies Fall	BuckeyeBfly	WestCoastLady

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