A Garden of Many Colors

We all know that gardens should be planned. There are many things to consider, form, leaf shape, season of bloom, color theme, etc. I've always tried to keep my garden in shades of yellow, purple and pink. 

Yeah right! Oh I try all right. I swear that I should only use the proper color scheme, but somehow, a rainbow keeps sneaking in. 

Some people call this clown pants gardening. Well, I just call it colorful! 

I think it all started with the butterfly weed. Most of my garden is geared towards attracting hummingbirds and butterflies, so butterfly and other milkweeds were a must. And this one blooms orange. Oh well, I'll just sneak it in, no one will notice. Ha! It's impossible to ignore butterfly weed in bloom. The neon orange is like a traffic light! 

So once summer arrives full force, I just try to embrace my rainbow garden. You have to admit it, it's cheerful! 

I even get colorful visitors that add to my rainbow. 

I do actually have a few mellow spots, with more subtle colors. But this one was accidental. I planted seeds, it came out a soft, blush pink. If it was my choice, I'm sure I would have picked something much brighter! Isn't it supposed to be elegant and classy to have pastels in your garden? Guess I'm just not the type. 

What's funny is that I always swore that I wouldn't use orange in my garden. Guess I was wrong. I'm not sure why I made that statement, because I use orange in my home decor all the time. 

I suppose I need to embrace my many-colored garden. It does make me smile, that's for sure. Every time I turn the corner on another rainbow, I have to stop and take a picture. 

I've always been a fan of anything colorful and bright, so I suppose it was inevitable that I'd end up with a clown pants garden. 

And when I found this rainbow shining down on my yard, I knew I was right. 

Yes, You Can Go Home Again

So far, October has been a gray and rainy month. It's hard to enjoy the fall color show when all it does is rain. So my solution has been to take a trip to the beach.

 I know, it seems like a strange solution to a chilly and rainy fall. But this particular beach is my hometown of St. Joseph Michigan!

When your hometown is a charming little beach town, you can go back any time of year and enjoy it, no matter what the weather.

And if you like to take pictures, well, there are plenty of sights to see.

I was picturing these vivid fall color shots with crystal blue skies. But it didn't happen. Every day was cloudy, rainy and gray. The skies would clear for an hour or so, then the rains would move in again. But honestly, it didn't matter to me. I still love it there.

Anyone who has visited my blog before knows how much I love the beach, and how much I love my little hometown on the shores of Lake Michigan. So sorry if you've seen all this before. You'd think I'd get tired of going there to see the same sights, and taking the same pictures. But I don't!

The challenge is always to find another angle, another hidden spot, another perfect shot. And we all know there's no such thing as the perfect shot. So I just keep trying.

 My favorite photo opportunity all week happened the day that I went to just sit and watch the waves roll in. I'd take a few shots, then I'd just sit and daydream for awhile. It was a beautiful way to while away a cool autumn afternoon. Rain kept threatening, but it held off long enough for me to enjoy a good long think. And my reward was this beautiful lake rainbow.

 It was so low on the horizon that no one in the town could see it, and it persisted for over an hour. I've never seen a beach rainbow like this, so I took a lot of pictures that day. And even if I hadn't, I still have it all saved up in my mind. You see, you really can go home again.