This year the Autumn Equinox “falls” on September 23, the official arrival of autumn.

A sure sign is that apples and pumpkins are for sale everywhere, with some farms advertising “pick your own.” We even saw an advertisement for “pick your own potatoes,” a first for us.

Blooming in our gardens are the asters and sedums along with some hydrangeas, both ‘Endless Summer’ and ‘Pee Gee’. The seven-son flower tree (Heptacodium miconioides) is putting on its annual show. Once it has bloomed, the stunning red-pink calyces will continue to enchant for the rest of the fall. The calyces are so pretty and eye catching that some people think they are the true flowers, as I did before I was corrected.

The Muscari (grape hyacinths) foliage is quite visible marking the areas that will be full of their spectacular blooms come next spring.

Especially interesting are the different mushroom groupings which have appeared, seemingly overnight, after recent rainfalls.

It’s time to take some coleus cuttings and root them for some winter color indoors.

Sadly, we have not seen any hummingbirds at our feeder for a week or so. They must be on their way south for the winter although some Monarch butterflies are still around before their flight to Mexico.

There have been reports about West Nile virus in the news and everyone is encouraged to be vigilant about spraying for ticks when outdoors to avoid getting Lyme disease.

We have already received several complimentary 2016 gardening calendars.

Of course, at this time of the year we always look forward to pumpkin muffins, pumpkin ice cream and cider doughnuts.

After all, we gardeners need all the energy enhancers we can get. Yes?