Around the house: Fall tones and textures

Fall is finally settling in on us in North Carolina. It's chilly and rainy and the colors outside are beginning to fade and mellow. (Except for the grass, which is neon green this time of year.) As I sit here sipping spicy Good Earth tea and nibbling a donut-muffin from one of my favorite local bakeries, Scratch, it seems like a nice moment to share with you some of the cozy tones and textures appearing in our yard.

When I first moved down here, the concept of planting another round of flowers in the fall was foreign to me. Wouldn't the snow just cover them up in a few weeks? Oh, wait...there wouldn't be snow in a few weeks...Now I love when mum season rolls around—all those burnt oranges and burgundies and yellows and lavenders spilling from our gardens and our neighbors'.

Several years ago, we planted pampas grass in a far corner of our backyard. The grass eventually took hold and began to grow, though considerably slower than we'd envisioned. Then a few weeks ago, we returned from a trip, looked out the window and gasped. Our pampas grass had grown several feet and sprouted amazing tassels while we were away!

[Aside: As I was photographing the grass, I heard someone pounding on the window from inside the house. Cricket, who had been playing with Dad and Nora, could no longer be contained and was desperate to join me in the yard. How could I not oblige?]

Okay, back to that grass. I love this view of one yellowy-orange blade peaking through.

And here is some of our fall bounty of cherry tomatoes. (I posted here about growing our first tomato plant.) We learned this year that it's kind of silly to have one tomato plant. I suppose everyone else already knows this. We get one or two tomatoes at a time, which is fun for Cricket—the biggest tomato lover in history—but not enough to do much with. To remedy this situation, we're prepping a garden plot this fall that will be large enough for several tomato plants, among other things. More to come on that project in a few weeks...

Remember our vibrant hydrangeas? They've slowly withered and crumbled into these fabulously muted shades.

This seed pod was poking out of the hydrangeas.

Happy pumpkin hunting!

P.S. In my next post, I'll be sharing an easy fall DIY centerpiece.