Victoria October 2020

Dear Friends Savoring the first perfect day of October—air as crisp as an apple, foliage ablaze in fiery hues, and mellowing light casting a gentle glow over the landscape—I feel completely, blissfully alive. My energy is renewed, and the future shimmers with possibility. In our Victoria Classics Book Club selection, The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett describes such times, when “one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever”: And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Many of these lovely and unforgettable moments, as fleeting as they are precious, tend to…

Visit our website to read this issue’s online stories and to find more of the content you love. Take a closer look at some of our favorite October features: Beauty by the Water Take a virtual vacation, exploring favorite sites along the shores of Geneva Lake, a popular getaway in Wisconsin appreciated for its charming character and scenery. Along Her Path Visit the home of entrepreneur Debbie Jones-Permenter, whose interiors showcase the cozy sensibility of her new business of bliss, 25 Mackenzie Lane. A Collector’s Haven In this welcoming lakeside retreat, special finds take pride of place in gathering spaces designed for the family to dwell together in absolute comfort. Literary Bouquet Glimpse autumn blooms at a Central Park enclave inspired by The Secret Garden, and become immersed in the novel with our discussion forum and recipes for a…

Autumn … it’s a rich word full of colors, sights, and sounds. I eagerly watch for the subtle changes in the verdure along the roadside—those inaugural pops of yellow or red. Pumpkin stands open with glorious gourds of all shapes and sizes. I can never make up my mind and end up buying more for my porch than I need. Vibrant mums in shades of burgundy and gold beckon, soon interspersed among my surfeit of pumpkins. Spring is a lovely, chaste young girl, but autumn is a glorious woman rich in wisdom and beauty, joyous in her strength. I wait for this woman every year and revel in her knowledge. I am happiest in autumn, seeing the first frost, smelling a log fire, and walking through leaves, kicking them up as…

Where I live, the harvest season can be discouraging in some years and overabundant in others. A year ago, there was an alarming scarcity of both acorns and apples here. Many of the wild animals that relied on having these foods in their diets went into the winter hungry. This year, acorns are more than plentiful, and our apple trees produced a bumper crop, their branches so bowed with fruit that many dropped before they were fully ripened. Apples litter the ground along the roadsides, in the little orchard my husband planted behind our house many years ago, on the lawn, and at the edge of the hayfield between the vegetable garden and the woods. We have picked as many apples as we can gather for eating and for baking pies…

The best thing about autumn wreaths is that they fully embrace the changing season. Unlike their evergreen counterparts, they are not meant to be perfectly formed and lush. I love having the opportunity to capture the fleeting, tattered, and wild feeling of fall in radiant wreaths and bouquets. Depending on where you live, foraging choices will vary. You can find many amazing ingredients simply by walking in the woods or cleaning up overgrown corners of your landscape. Be on the lookout for ingredients with interesting textural qualities, unique coloring, or a trailing habit. I find myself rescuing treasures—fruiting branches, dried hop vines, rose hips, dried seedpods, hydrangea, and delicate grasses—knowing they will look amazing in my creations. See A Year in Flowers by Erin Benzakein for more information. “AMONG FOLIAGE AND FLOWERS, I THREAD…

“I AM SURE WE SHOULD NOT SHUT OUR HEARTS AGAINST THE HEALING INFLUENCES THAT NATURE OFFERS US.”—Lucy Maud Montgomery…