Winter has arrived in Americus at the Americus Garden Inn

Greetings from a very chilly Americus Georgia. The temperature on the porch is, as you can see, in the 30's. Definitely cold for here. Yesterday, it was cold but the sun was shining. I just got a new camera and decided to try some test shots. This is the view from the parking area. You can see the October glory red maple still shows lots of color and the ruby lorapetalum appears to be almost purple.
The bald cypress is almost bald for the winter.

Looking towards the gazebo in the far corner of the garden you can see that the bloodgood maple has lost most of its leaves.

Although it was rather chilly, in the sun it was comfortable. Here is Squeaky soaking up some rays.

Today, it is overcast and feels much colder than yesterday. You can see by Kitten's expression that she is not happy today. It might have to do with the fact that the fish in the pond are down towards the bottom and she can't reach that far...

Rufus, on the other hand, was chasing the dead leaves and having quite a good time.

The red dragon Japanese maple has not lost its leaves just yet, but the monkey grass around it is starting to turn yellow. The sago palms still look gorgeous.

A different view from the parking area into the garden shows that the red rocket crepe myrtles have lost all their foliage. The magnolias look great.

It may be a little cold for strolling the garden, but, it is never too cold to snuggle on the swing.

This view of the garden shows the curly filbert has no leaves, the day lilies are gone, the weeping cherry is bare, but, the Leyland cypress and cryptomeria are beautiful.

A view of the other planter on the path towards the gazebo.

With so many plants going into hibernation, it is nice to see the paperwhites coming forward all around the yard.

And, the gardenia by the porch entrance has new buds.

We have been fostering 2 very affectionate kitties that our neighbors left behind when they moved, Cinderella and Thumbelina ("Lena" is her nickname). If anyone has room in their home for 2 adorable companions, please let us know.

This is Cinderella asking me to give her some attention.

And here is Lena. Aren't they cute?

Thank you for your visit to the Americus Garden Inn blog. Hope you are staying nice and warm on this very chilly day. Wish you were here.

Autumn Colors on a rainy day in Americus

To some, it might be a dreary day in Americus, Georgia. But, on a closer look, it is a beautiful autumn day at the Americus Garden Inn. I took this photo earlier today from the front gate. The sasanqua is in full bloom and the crepe myrtles are gorgeous this year. Remember, you can click on any photo for a larger view.This is the view from the parking area behind the house. The purple queen is, well, purple. The red rocket crepe myrtles turned a beautiful orange. However, the rain caused most of the leaves to drop making it appear that the trees has "melted".
One of the crepe myrtles in front of the house.

The Chinese flame tree still has the "pom poms" but the leaves at the top of the tree are now a bright yellow.

The holly berries are starting to turn red.

The nandina berries are already bright red like cranberries.

Every day, the oakleaf hydrangea shows more color.

One of our oak trees.

A view of the parrotia leaves up close.

From the distance, the parrotia tree looks orange.

The pistache tree has just started turning.

A fragrant gardenia has appeared by the porch entrance.

Today, the knockout roses are truly knockouts!

By the porch entrance, a single pink bud has emerged.

One of the two varieties of sasanqua in front of the house.

A close up of the other variety of sasanqua, from the bush in the front of the house in the first photo of this post.

It is hard to believe that we have been here since 2002. In the years we have been here, this is the prettiest autumn we have seen. Wish you were here enjoying it with us.

Is it really Fall in Americus?

When you take a walk outside, you can see signs of autumn all around. The leaves of the tulip poplar are turning yellow.Although the pecans are not quite ready, some have started falling from the trees.
The parrotia tree has started to turn orange, but, only on the side that faces west.

Some of the nandina bushes are full of red berries.

Almost everyone asks us about this plant. It is a "false cypress".

Although the crepe myrtle trees still have flowers, the leaves have begun to change.

One of my favorite flowers of the season, the Confederate rose.

You might think that fall would bring cooler weather. Well, I just looked at the thermometer on the porch. In the shade, it is 88 degrees! No wonder the butterflies are still around.

Thank you for allowing me to share my day with you. Hope you are having a Happy Day.

Toads, Frogs, Flowers and Such

When we first moved to Americus, almost 8 years ago, the pond was always full of algae. We were told that "when the toad-frogs come" they would eat the algae and we should be happy that we had a "fertile" pond. Well, if you look carefully, we have quite a few koi/goldfish babies swimming around.Can you see the tadpoles? I guess we do have a "fertile" pond. Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them.
One of our cats brought us a present, this lovely toad. Did you know that toads are frogs but not all frogs are toads? If you click on the photo, you can see that the toad has cat fur in its mouth. If you have been following my blog, you know that our garden is full of things that make a toad or frog go "YUM".This beautiful yellow butterfly posed for the following two photos on the butterfly bush.

As I wandered the garden path, I found another toad in amongst the black-eyed susans.

I just had to take more than one photo...

The first time I threw a lubber grasshopper into one of the spider webs, the spider shook the web until the lubber fell out. It must have been too big. This one, however, must have been just the right size.

Magnolias have beautiful flowers with an incredible aroma. Our D D Blanchard magnolias have these beautiful leaves, shiny green on top and the lovely rust color underneath.

Everyone has been commenting on the red rocket crepe myrtles. You usually see the pink and white varieties. The red is really outstanding.

The vitex trees have just begun to bloom again.

When I saw this spider on the side of the little house, I just had to get the camera. It is actually very small. Its abdomen is shiny gold and its head is shiny copper. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's mandibles were rather large for its size...

We have 2 different varieties of fig trees and both are loaded with fruit. I noticed that on one of the trees there were quite a few of these beetles mating.

Looking more carefully, I found these other beetles (they look like "June bugs")

devouring the few figs that appeared to be almost ripe.

I looked online to identify these critters and it appears that they just might be "figeater beetles". That was almost too easy.

I checked the fig tree today and there are no beetles to be seen. I guess we'll see them again when the rest of the figs ripen.

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast. Hope you are staying cool and comfortable through this crazy hot summer weather.