Early Winter Colors in New England

The beautiful colors of our hillside are quickly disappearing and taking on the earthy natural shades of grays and browns that appear in early winter. The weather has been unseasonably warm and taking walks has been so enjoyable. There has been no need to be overly bundled up.



I like how the hydrangea flowers in our front yard look against the faded tones of the mountain behind it.


Ragweed makes so many people's lives unpleasant but in the fall when it goes to seed it adds a certain interest to the landscape.

Up the hill from our farmhouse, the rosehips will be food for the birds all winter long.

There's been so much on the radio lately about the invasive nature of bittersweet. I especially enjoyed Laurie Sanders piece on WFCR's Field Notes which you can listen to as a podcast here.


Now that I am aware of this, I can't help but see bittersweet vines all through the hillsides around here. It's too bad the plant is so invasive because it does add some color to the November landscape.


Here's another nasty weed that the birds spread around! The dark purple and wine colored berries look so beautiful against the tan shriveled leaves. It is so hard to get rid of though and I fight with it constantly as it seems to have invaded my perennial garden.


Right outside my back door, I planted a shrub called Beauty Bush. It never looks like much until very late in the fall. Then the skinny branches are covered with little purple berries.


There have been so many lovely sunsets this past month. When I see one happening, I yell for Julia "Sunset happening!" We run up the road or drive if it looks like it is going to disappear quickly which they so often do.

I think she is starting to notice them finally and maybe appreciate all the colors as the sky deepens and goes dark.

Enjoy the colors around you today.