Red berries and silver light, weather changing frame by frame and night skies opening up to endless stars…country living, or maybe just observing.
For as I type, a fierce storm moves across the tree tops, sweeping leaves before it like a Samhain broom!
Yet in the stillness of the sheltered gardens of Bealtaine, Perscaria blooms stand tall and erect, like soldiers guarding Summer…but not for long!
(Persicaria amplexicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to the Himalayas.)
Che-Mousey-Bear chases around the gardens, delighting in Autumn and curiously keeping watch as I take photographs this morning.
Willow arches have thickened this year…something I will plant many more of, as the Autumn progresses and leaves fall away, to reveal the best stems to cut and plant.
The fallen Rowan tree continues to grow strong and multiply it’s stems, year after year.
This beautiful tree had fallen in a storm over nine years ago, but now grows in the more sheltered gardens.
The Rowan tree has long been regarded to possess magical and protective qualities and often was planted near Irish cottages.
This may have something to do with the fact that there is a small five-pointed star, or pentagram, opposite the stalk of each berry.
Pentagrams have long been considered symbols of protection.
The berries’ red colour is also regarded to be the best protective colour against enchantment.
The covering on the tunnel is in need of washing, for the algae has settled on the outside…a task to add to my weekly list!
The berries on the Ivy are ripening fast.
These are a welcome source of food for blackbirds and if not eaten, remain on the plant until spring, providing an important food-source for young birds.
Ivy makes a magical decoration for the home towards midwinter… I always look forward to gathering and decorating the mantelpiece with this wonderful greenery, leaving plenty for the birds!
