Southern Exposure: Bittersweet November

Before we end November, I wanted to take a break from travel posts and take you back to my favorite Southern Exposure for a quick look at my favorite place in November. We'll return with posts from England next time, and more on the workshop at the end of this post. But first, let's visit the garden.

And there wasn't much garden left in November. We've had snow and it has been very cold so the only flowers still surviving were those in the bird baths, probably arranged that morning!

The flowering kale still held its color, too.

And the stone cherubs holding court looked more than a little cold on this frosty morning.

But the bittersweet was fantastic. I've never seen so much growing wild. Or maybe not so wild!

We couldn't stop taking photos, it felt like a rare sight to us.

There is a certain beauty in fading blooms, the quiet colors of autumn. I confess I found these faded hydrangea blooms just as pretty in a soft tan hue as beautiful as the more colorful versions in the heat of the summer. These seemed to just form in a heart shape!

Inside the greenhouse, a few lovely vignettes.

Look closely. I loved the heart in shadow on the back wall. Lots of love today!

And this made me smile. I want a greenhouse!

Of course our trio of creatives had to do a selfie in the gazebo. This was our last workshop there together (although at the bottom of this post I'll share another project I did there a week later).

Should you think there is only fall color at Southern Exposure, think again!

Now, that's what I call a holly bush!

It made me think it was time to start decking the halls!

Back in the Milking Parlor, Angie greeted us with a berry cocktail.

Then it was on to lunch -- a fabulous salmon dish this time, with wild rice and the obligatory November pumpkin pie. As always, the table was lovely and our table companions delightful.

Then to the craft tent for the project. We started with a very gnarly wreath and were given live eucalyptus. Micah explained the type we used and since I didn't have a notebook, I can't remember -- I just know it wasn't the "silver dollar" kind. He promised it would dry well for us. I love how they set us up with very sturdy easels and all our supplies!

Here's the end project when we left. I knew I would be tucking a few stray leaves into place and adding some red for this season when I got home.

And here you have it finished. Well, no, because when I got home I added berries and a cardinal for the season! And tamed some of the leaves a little bit!

The next week I went down for an "Alpine Sled" workshop. We decorated a small sled with pine, boxwood, holly, berries, eucalyptus, and dogwood, added a couple of snowflakes (which I'll rearrange before I put it up) and I loved it!

We'll start visiting England in the next post or two but those will be interspersed with lots of holiday merriment, you can be sure! (And maybe a baby grand or two!)