278/365: top of the ridge, autumn
There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.
– Nathaniel Hawthorne
flowers, plants
276/365: white prairie asters
The asters have won my heart for the sheer exuberant volume of blossoms they produce, for being hearty and beautiful in a kind of workaday way, for blooming so late in the season when the garden is a mess and I’ve lost my gumption for it until next spring. We might all pursue our vocations with such earnest cheer.
263/365: yucca filamentosa
There are a few plants that flourish in our north country winters that would appear to have NO BUSINESS living here. The yucca is one.
Somehow, growing this plant in my garden makes me feel like there’s something a little exotic going on right in my own front yard. I’m happy to host this denizen of the desert and other southern climes and truly impressed with its survival skills.
260/365: sedum flowers
I always feel that the sedum flowers are the ‘girl next door’ in the garden. That is to say: gorgeous and overlooked.
I had to check to see how often I’d posted them in the past…turns out it’s been five years. Definitely time these beauties get another turn in the spotlight.
Visit the 2010 sedum post here. I really like what I wrote about them back then.
256/365: clematis seeds
The Virgin’s Bower clematis is an aggressive vine. Covered with small white, star-shaped flowers in summer, by early fall the whole vine is a hairy mess of seeds. I can’t help thinking of truffula tufts (or a raging case of bed head).
They have a certain disheveled charm. Then, after a while, they just look messy. It’s a fine line.