Darkness Crept back into the Forests of the World

To quote Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings movie, darkness is creeping upon us in this part of the world, the weather is chilly and the leaves have started to turn colour. It feels sad but at the same time I like this darkness. I’m feeling like the world is a darker place and more connected to all the evil spirits that populate the horror books and movies I so enjoy. The plants are shedding their leaves and everything goes back to the earth, slowly turning to humus. A sense of peace and quiet can be felt.

Horse-chestnuts, aren’t they pretty?
The balcony has been emptied of tender plants except a passion-wine, a Bougainvillea and an olive tree. I have also made the unfortunate discovery that I don’t have endless space in my windowsills which has meant that some plants have been given away or sold. The windows in the stairways have been conquered by plants and I can only keep my fingers crossed that the neighbors won’t complain, I hope that’s hard to do with a tropical hibiscus blooming its socks off in two different colours.
Inside the apartment the Desert Rose has been given a new pot I bought the last weekend of summer and the Sarracenia has been moved indoors. Both seem to do well and the Desert Rose looks handsome in the new pot. The same day I got my very first Tillandsia, it does look a bit like an alien, doesn’t it?

Tillandsia in the upper left corner of the second picture.
I do worry about the huge olive tree I have though, will I keep it indoors and hope for the best or find a corner in the staircase for it? I don’t really know yet but will keep it outdoors for as long as possible, which to be honest isn’t very long.
On the bright side my yellow Cattleya that hasn’t been re-potted for ages got a new clay pot today and I removed some of the leafless back pseudobulbs, hoping for the best but it seems like it should work. It has some really nice new shoots and needed a new heavier pot because it kept falling over all the time. The roots were a tangled mess when I cut away the pot and all the bark mix seemed to have been eaten by the roots.
This time of the year is bittersweet for me, I have to clean, weed my plants and check for pests, there is a lot to do and I can clearly say that I prefer to be bringing plants outside rather than inside. But when I can’t do anything more in the evening because of the darkness I can always watch garden series and dream of spring and one day moving to a more gardening friendly climate. I’d love to live in a Mediterranean climate some day. For now I have to be satisfied with watching my old favorites, like Monty Don and his Italian and French Gardens! Doesn’t Mr Don seem like the sweetest and most knowledgeable person one could listen to a gloomy autumn evening? Scroll down for more pictures.

Summer tries to stay while being pushed back by autumn.