Category Archives: Flowers & Greenery

The Fall Floral Festival is Afoot In The Yard

Lyon Park in autumn is no match for Flaming Vermont. But In The Yard, we’ve still got lots  of seasonal Carolina color. Pause for a moment and breathe it in . . . .

First Up — This is Old Fashioned Weigela, which has been blooming off and on since spring. On it is one our resident bumblebees, who are a disturbing lot to watch: slow, befuddled, forlorn and feeble. This one didn’t seem to know which end of the blossom had the hidden nectar they were seeking. Is it just their time, or are they like Russian army conscripts, exhausted by years in the darker gulags, just waiting to be fed to the drones?

This solitary bloom of a Butterfly Bush is coming off a summer scarred by multiple droughts, in this case a near-total desert of butterflies. Didn’t used to be that way.

Japonica is the yellow-and green leafed centerpiece here, one of the first entries in our new free-form space. It was a threefer: with both green & yellow leaves, and a color combo that stayed year-round with little care. They’re Japanese originally I think. And they seem to get along fine with our China Rose close by, also a sturdy & prolific survivor.

Brown-eyed Susans have just come out and are keeping low in a corner.

The Zinnias are also past their peak, but are holding on for a big finish.

The other Japonica bush, largely yellow, stands with our wildlife habitat sign, which is our main token of respectability.

One more: another pitiful bumblebee is still searching for the the business end of this Weigela bloom. Some bee experts say many species in the US are declining and under threat.

After the Sudden Storm: Minding the Light Again!

About 10:30 Wednesday night, I was ready to pack it in: tired and frazzled from a day spent largely looking for chargers to recharge chargers for phone & Ipad, and then charging the devices while circling in the Fair Wendy’s air-conditioned EV., and buying drippy bags of ice from a darkened but open vape shop for the room temperature fridge/freezer.

I turned off the MSNBC audio feed my phone still had and was starting the push up out of the recliner when — voilá!

Continue reading After the Sudden Storm: Minding the Light Again!

In The Yard: Daisy In Peril—An August Thriller

Outside our kitchen door, a single daisy has appeared. Daisies are generally pretty good at standing up for themselves.

But our Daisy faces a very serious challenge; she appeared in the middle of a larger patch of very pushy, one might even say aggressive and imperialistic morning glories. Continue reading In The Yard: Daisy In Peril—An August Thriller

In The Yard: The Stump, the Wild Strawberry & the Pollinators’ Friend

The stump & the wild strawberry: Tuesday it was my difficult duty to explain to a great-granddaughter that wild strawberries look good, but don’t taste good. Later this year, or maybe next, I may have to address her definite suspicion that not long after Thanksgiving, her grandpa turns into Santa Claus . . . .

A clover, one of my spring favorites, and the bees’ staunch ally. But where are the bees? Continue reading In The Yard: The Stump, the Wild Strawberry & the Pollinators’ Friend