Brookside afternoon

Hot Maple

Fall color at Brookside

Yesterday afternoon found us enjoying a walk at Brookside Gardens, one of our favorite uses of our Montgomery County tax dollars. The many varieties of Japanese maples extended the color range beyond what we see in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Brookside camellia, Brookside bee

At this point in the fall, the main blooms were in the greenhouses, where we enjoyed the end of the chrysanthemum show (soon to be replaced by the popular annual model train exhibit.) But a few outdoor plants were still offering some flowers.  Pansies benefit from fall planting here for best spring display, and we admired a large bed of them. The camellias were also still in bloom and attracting bees as well as a few wasps.

In the visitors' center there was a nice display of wall hangings in botanical and nature themes, by Verena Levine, Diana Garrison, and Janet Wildman. They were described as quilts, and certainly used some quilting techniques, but the size (too small for a bed) and the surface detail were more suitable for hanging. Possibly the term 'quilt" seemed more accessible.  I especially liked "Forest Floor" by Levine and Garrison, for its use of applique across block boundaries to suggest ferns and vines.