Before Added Hurricane Waters

I went for a slow stroll yesterday evening camera in hand, vaguely aware more hurricane waters were on the way. The Tall Flower Meadow is in peak bloom.

The hurricane waters arrived in the night and it has has been raining light and steady since.

Good thing I went for a walk yesterday.

A wet Tall Flower Meadow is not all that enjoyable.

A gentle rain pushes down.

In this year of ugly leaves, the Tall Flower Meadow is standing tall, so far, for a landscape that wants to bend or break - weathers depending.

A gentle rain pushes down. A light fluff and dry will stand things back up a little lower than before. The tops are heavy with bloom now. That is how things work. 

Gravity. A gentle rain pushes down.

Why Not

The Tall Flower Meadow is coming into peak bloom on the Autumn equinox.

Might as well go for an evening stroll.

Forgive me if I show the same view again and again. The bloom and colors are changing by the day. Trust me.

It would be rude of me not to share the Tall Flower Meadow in peak bloom.

We wait all year for this.

Blue asters.

They are not all blue. There is a large amount of aster in white.

The hole digger is back. I get the feeling they enjoy a freshly mowed lawn.

The critter cam has been relocated to see if I can capture an image of this digging beast.

A big soccer ball sized paper wasp nest hanging low in a viburnum was dismantled. It was only a matter of time. There could be a connection.

Tune in again. The mystery digger may soon be revealed. Can a pig really be that tidy? Do they prefer a freshly mowed lawn? These and other questions are why I bought the critter cam. And Get Off My Lawn!

The Blue Asters Join In

All of a sudden the season changed. It felt like the flip of a switch.

The 40 degree low was one thing.

The big change I really noticed was the quality of the light. A rare full sun day occurred and half the garden was already in shade most of the day.

The sun has sunk low in the sky. My trees have grown taller in the last decade.

That is the signal for the blue asters to begin.

Blue asters in blue light.

No wonder it can be so difficult to capture the true colors of the blues.

The bloom of the blue asters has begun to sweep across the meadows while Joe Pye and Goldenrod still have their color. It doesn't always happen that way. They can miss each other in peak bloom.

You really have to be here to see it.

After Hurricane Waters

The rain stopped. Now it is going to turn cold. It's looking like I'm only going to get a side dish of okra this year.

I keep running out of daylight to go harvest it. This weekend for sure.

It was a gentle hurricane, thank you. I did hear a big tree crash in the night.

The suggested cold is two nights of lows in the upper thirties.

There is still time. The blue asters will join in.

Voodoo will fade away. I'm just not ready to move anything yet. They will have to suffer 38. Everyone will have to suffer 38.

We wait for the blue asters.

In Hurricane Waters

The Crooked Shed with Voodoo Lilies has stayed nice and dry inside in a very wet year. It is off to a good start. The reset fixed windows in the cabin loft have been staying dry too.

There have been a number of fine cool dry evenings for garden strolling in the last week.

Even one with enough light to capture goldenrod blooming in the shade.

Then some hurricane waters arrived. It's the flotsom I find living outside.

I was confined to the front porch. Yes, somehow I did a whole flat of Angelwing Begonia cuttings a few weeks ago. The begonia gets too big for the house by winter. It needs a haircut before going inside.

I had an unexpected hurricane day off in a steady gentle rain. It felt good. The Tall Flower Meadow bends with the weight of water and bloom. It was gentle with no wind. The meadow will rise refreshed, spared from an end with more ugly leaves. So far.

September Bloom Day Closeups

I have not been doing much in the way of flower porn photography for a good long while. Monet and I stepped back for the bigger picture of the gardens. Closeups don't work well with my vibration. There was good light when I got home and it was Bloom Day. I thought I would put my vibration to a test. I did very well. Better than expected. It was probably the quality of the light.

The result is a very full post of flower closeups. This is some of what is blooming in the Tall Flower Meadows high on the low spot of a North Carolina mountain top in the middle of September.

Hardy Begonia

New England Aster

Joe Pye and Goldenrod

White Wood Aster

Jewel Weed/Snap Weed/Water Weed

Boneset

In Joe Pye's Head

Blue Wood Aster

One kind Goldenrod

Lots of Jewel Weed

Another kind Goldenrod

Ironweed

Great Blue Lobelia

Pink Anemones

Elephant's Foot

Sedum

A patch of Tatarian Aster will be blooming shortly.

White Snake Root

Aralia cordata 'Sun King'

The Tall Phlox the deer didn't eat are having some flowers.

I have a Goldenrod that blooms rather well in the shade.

The Miscanthus began to bloom this week.

My September curb appeal.

With Aromatic Aster

Frost Aster

Helianthus maximiliani

Big Ironweed

Verbena on a Stick with Parsnips.

Another Miscanthus in bloom.

In the big picture of things

Hope you enjoyed my Bloom Day weed flower closeups. Be sure to visit headquarters at May Dreams Gardens for more kinds of flower touring.