Along The Scenic Byway

If I remember my original intent correctly, it was to have more flowers and less grass. Time has given me more grass and less flowers.

I had some notion that the Miscanthus 'Morning Light' was a bit more petite than it has proven to be. The last two years I have removed whole clumps and cut others in half. I still have more grass and less flowers.

At least I have grass and flowers as I intended. The quantities are just reversed. I can live with that. It works just fine. The garden and the gardener have moved on to new ground since this was planted many years ago.

The gardener has more interest in changing the hedgerow of goldenrod that separates the roadside vegetable garden from the scenic byway into a planting with a much more extended bloom cycle. There have been a couple of half hearted attempts at that. I need to get ruthless.

The new helenium is looking good. If it has half the vigor of the wild kind, it should compete with the Lush just fine and make a nice addition out along the scenic byway.

In A Tall Flower Meadow

Variegated Miscanthus and wild pale Joe Pye

Jerusalem Artichoke, Black-Eyed Susan and a patch of Echinacea

The first Ironweed

The Hibiscus and Echinops among wisps of grass

The view from down here

The Roadside Bed In September

The chicory was cut down once the bloom had dwindled to a dribble and the flower stalks were more brown than green. Now the bed is a simple, shabby chic bordering on elegant.

The Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' has grown enough over the years to dominate the entire bed. It is crowding out most everything else. I debate whether to cut the grass clumps in half come spring or go an easier route and rescue the few plants worth saving. I don't need to make any decisions until May.

Long After The Fall

At at certain point during the creation of man our brains got a bit bigger than what was needed for our mere day to day survival. We finally realized hunting and gathering was really a lot of hard work. There was a lot of competition and half the time you came up empty handed and went hungry. Plenty beasts would actually try to gather you. There were a lot of really powerful forces out there much bigger than a tiny man.

Then it dawned on humans. They were not in control. Surely something must be in control of all this.

Let us pray.

I thought just maybe after relocating four raccoons to a more populated section of the county I might get to eat me some sweet corn this year. I missed a few and they invaded the corn patch. Raccoons are a force more powerful than me.

I have a trap now and went back to work. The first four chewed the wire off the trip lever and now all that is left is the metal frame. Any varmint in there would have to step on a narrow bar to close the trap and that wasn't happening as easily. They got away with the marshmallows in a short piece of  tupperware and another half dozen ears of my not quite ready sweet corn.

The last two nights I saw a skunk waddling so close to the front porch I thought it was going to come up, take a seat and join me. Oh crap! What will I do if I catch a skunk in that trap? I give. I give. You win. Eat my sweet corn.

I surrender. I am not in control.

Such a pretty flower, a big red hibiscus, that no one wants to eat or steal. I'll have to grow the things that nothing else would want.

Paying homage to St. Francis has been no help at all. Both his legs got broken.

I live in a fallen world where I am not in control. When I grow sweet corn I often come up empty handed.

It Takes Me Away

There is a single form tuberose blooming on my front porch right now. They also come in a double petaled form. The scent is intoxicating. I inhale and am transformed back to Maui, a lei around my neck. I can detect a faint scent of the ocean and feel the cool trade wind breezes. It takes me away. Thanks Deb.

Just off the front porch the hibiscus have started to bloom. Two decades of memories wash over me like an incoming tide.

The scent of a flower has unusual powers.