garden

aster-nomical

276/365: white prairie asters

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.

still in bloom

270/365: meadow rue

blog100115_shade-garden-flower

I’m always happy to find flowers still in bloom in early autumn – besides the ubiquitous mums, of which, I a not a huge fan. The meadow rue can easily be taller than me, despite its delicate appearance. I like things that manage to be mighty and tender all at once.

playing desert

263/365: yucca filamentosa

blog092415_some-kind-of-plant

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.

all in the neighborhood

260/365: sedum flowers

blog092115_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.

fine lines

256/365: clematis seeds

blog091715_clematis hair

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.

fall flowers

254/365: purple dome asters

blog091515_asters

Our garden has never had much fall interest so this year I’m excited about the new asters in the native plant garden. So excited, in fact, that I couldn’t wait for them to open entirely before photographing them several days in a row. There is something magical about emergence, being poised on the brink of discovery but with so much left unknown.