My camera does not do this vibrant field of gold and purple justice. The horses came out pretty well.
In town this grand house caught my eye. There are hanging flower baskets all along the arches on the porch. I am not sure why, but it says former funeral home to me.
After lunch we headed back to the historic section of downtown, about two blocks up from here to stroll the opposite side of the street. On the right is a sign for a florist.
Getting back home late in the afternoon I wandered outside to see what new blooms I could find.
Here we have regular old Peppermint in bloom.
I found this very strange looking thing a few days ago and have no idea what it is since I never saw it bloom. I have now found another small patch of it. If I had seen it earlier I may have been able to pass off this strange fruit as the Tiniest Tomato.
I have sorely neglected all the Oenothera species that thrive in the mountaintop meadow garden. There were many blooming in June when I first arrived. Now a whole new crop of fall blooming species have begun to show themselves.
Before the Great Easter Freeze of '07' roses abounded here on the mountain. They were all severely damaged by the freeze. Only now in mid September have some of them recovered enough to bloom. Sadly tonight's low temperature is listed as 37 degrees for down in the valley (Oh dear knob help me) that means it will be cooler up here.
As if some one had flipped a switch, the Cicadas went silent tonight.
The lavender Asters gain bloom strength in the sunny utility valley of botanical delights
I missed joining in on the excellent ornamental grass posts by Layanee at Ledge and Gardens and Kim at A Study in Contrasts. To be honest I am still a little leery and skeptical about the use of a lot of grasses in the landscape. That has not stopped me from buying some and their posts were very instructive on a wide selection of grasses. They are beginning to grow on me a little.
This is just a wild grass that grows along the side of the road. It showed up on its own at the top of my driveway in a fairly thick stand. The flower heads capture the setting sun and disperse it in an amber glow.
The Northren Sea Oats Grass, Chasmanthium latifolium I bought is settling in. It has been promised to be on the aggressive side of self seeding. I have a steep bank I want it to cover.
Nature does its own thing.
Don't forget to visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the Blooming Bloggers Headquarters.
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10 comments:
Yes, that odd fruit could have been used to fool us for tiniest tomato, but you wouldn't have done that, would you?
I like the grasses you've pictured, the way you've used the light behind them.
Thanks for posting again for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Good luck when it gets cold, that's going to be quite a shock to your system!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
The northern sea oats has reseeded like crazy for me along the coast - and when I say crazy, I mean thousands of new seedlings each spring. I finally moved some of it to outside of my fence where most things fend for themselves - and it's doing great. It should be perfect for a step bank.
It sounds like you're getting chilly up in the mountains - when was the last time that you lived some place that got cool (=cold)?
ps That house does look like a funeral home - something about the orientation of the side porch.
Cool grass pics---like glow worms! In Austin, northern sea oats are called inland sea oats. They look the same to me, and I have a patch in my garden. They definitely seed out "readily."
Maybe I asked this in a previous post, but what's your average first freeze up there on the mountain?
Freezes in September? WTF?!
If anyone has any doubts about why grasses belong in the garden, they should read this post. Dammit!
Carol I may have teased you a little with my strange fruit posing as the Tiniest Tomato, but in the end I would come clean.
Pam it has been 20 years since I lived any where that it got cold, in Northern Florida so that was just brief cold, but before that I lived in Colorado for six years, three of them in Vail.
I am about to find out when our first freeze is Pam. It was 50 degrees when I woke up, so I doubt it got much colder than that last night. Gradual is good.
This post Chuck? It does not seem that persuasive on the grass front.
Great photos; life in the country as it used to be.
Funny you mentioned Waynesville in 2 posts recently; I had never heard of it before, but in a recent Washington Post article it was mentioned as a very popular retirement spot for baby boomers (as you noted). Enjoy it while you can!
Could those faux tomatoes be something else in the nightshade family? Hopefully it's not one of the poisonous members of the tribe.
Your new town looks interesting, Christopher. The old house with hanging baskets didn't make me think of a funeral home but looks like it has potential as a bed and breakfast.
It's pretty cool to pass fields with horses.
Annie
Annie the Nightshade family would be a good place to start looking for an ID on my faux Tiniest Tomato. I have never seen anything in that family with flowers along the stems like that though.
The long stroll through town was a very enjoyable way to get to know the place, at least part of it. I liked what I saw.
I liked the photos of the horses & the goldenrod, but that photo of the rose made me want to sniff it. You should have no problem getting that Chasmanthium to cover the slope in no time. I wish I could send some of the seedlings I'm pulling out of that stuff.
I'm growing the northern sea oats and so far (knock wood), I haven't had a problem with it reseeding. And now, I've probably cursed myself!
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