A Bloom Day Walk About

By the middle of July two plus acres of sunny utility meadow and roadside vegetable garden are looking like a glitter bomb has been dropped in an ocean of green. The glitter is in constant motion piling up and washing out with more being added all the time.

Closeups of everything that is blooming seems like an impossible task. Even with new eyeballs that can clearly see individual flowers, the long Winter of Monet has trained my mind to see things differently.

The big picture of a living community of plants firmly connected to the earth and posing as a garden makes the flowers less important than the colors they bring.

I see brush strokes in form, texture and color. The other Tall Flower Meadow is now under going a second cleansing and sculpting.

In the beginning several seasons were spent removing a smothering layer of Clematis virginiana vine just to be able to see what else was already there. Bulbarella and nature followed right behind me adding more of everything they possibly could.

Nature's replacement for the smothering vine was the thuggish Solidago canadensis. It wants to rule the entire domain. It was time for it to go. I have been pulling that particular Goldenrod all season. I've made some big dents along the edges, but this too will be a several seasons long project.

There are no doubts Bulbarella and nature will follow right behind me trying to fill every bit of new open space. I'll keep the good stuff and remove the pests.

I have a lot of ground to edit when the entire three plus acres of wild cultivated gardens are taken into account. So it's ok with me that the leeks went wild in the roadside vegetable garden.

It's all like arranging bubbles in the wind trying to pose wild nature and plants that must be half wild to live here as a garden.

I might find some fine produce in there this year. I am content with a glitter bomb too.

Last year my Feather Reed Grass did not bloom. I was hurt. I was most happy to see a very good show this year.

Nature does some unknowable things. I planted liatris corms from stem to stern and tossed out copious amounts of seed to little effect. I was not impressed. This year the liatris is having a super bloom. The vision in my head of long ago is coming to life. I have no idea what set it off or if it will ever happen again.

Shade glitter is different and comes a bit later in the summer.

The slope below the cozy cabin is also under going a Goldenrod reduction program. I want more asters please.

Looking at the pictures as a slide show to better see all the glitter can be done by clicking on any picture. That happens in my browser anyway. Does that work for you?

July Bloom Day for 2018 will go down as the year of the super bloom of liatris. I have something to look forward to in the years to come. It could happen again. Maybe.

Our Bloom Day walk about comes to an end in Paradise Parking Lot where some voodoo is happening. Go visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more flowers, more gardens and more Bloom Day fun if you can.

High on the low spot of a North Carolina mountain top, in summer meadows glittered with bloom, that's where I'll be out walking while nudging nature in a new direction. More asters please.