Fall sedums

A few years ago, my sister-in-law Rachel in Ohio sent me this unusual purple sedum. I'm not sure of the name, but it has a slow spreading habit like a ground cover, and the bees love it.

The sedums are an easy garden plant, and just coming into their prettiest stage now. But I think they are attractive almost all year, and none are fussy about water or soil. I usually cut them down each fall, but even in the winter the tall seed heads on Autumn Joy are interesting. I've never seen any winter birds eating the seeds, but it seems like they should.

And speaking of garden birds, where are mine? Before I left last week, the finches, sparrows and chickadees were draining a feeder of sunflower seeds every couple days. John let it run dry while I was gone, and now they've deserted us. I guess they gave up on the free buffet. I've only seen a few chickadees in the yard this week, and even the house sparrows and crows are somewhere else. But I've heard big flocks of starlings gathering in the trees, a sign of fall.