Dedicated to her

Fall 2006-- Trip to Northeast to visit friend dying of breast cancer-- beautiful autumn-- last time to see my friend-- this post and the beauty of fall dedicated to her

This trip was to New York state, 2 hours north of the NYC.  I'd lived there before I came to California and had a friend there to die of cancer the following spring.  I flew out for a quick weekend to see her.

The following photos taken during my last walk with her.

 

She loved to collect berries for wreaths.

 

The autumn colors were at their height. So much glorious beauty. I will never forget that trip. The next pictures are taken in the company of another friend I stayed with.

 These donkeys were lovebugs. We hugged and hugged. I couldn't get enough. Neither could they.

 

Berkshires, NY

 

Catskills in the distance

I know you hear me, dear friend. This is in your memory and dedicated to you in the spirit with which you lived and died.

Close up on Tiny Blossoms

 

  

My love affair with cranesbill geraniums reaches its peak when they bloom.  Even in the heat of the past week, this one continues giving me pleasure.  When it's not blooming, its gray fuzzy leaves, shaped like an open shell from the ocean, whisper, Look at me. I am beautiful even now.

 

The other cranesbill is in the rock garden. The pink streaks are all that remain on the blossom so close to the orange rock. Against its green foliage it shows it true pale pink nature.  This blossom in the photo is all the plant gave this morning after yesterday's heat.

 

The groundcover plumbago is one of the blues I can count on in the hot days.  Its leaves turn reddish in the fall.  So nice for our mellow fall in the deep south.  It is a take-over groundcover, so needs to be put in a finite garden space or pulled out like a weed.  I've allowed its spreading habit its way this year, so will have to get it under control in the fall.

 

The other blue blossoms has been a total surprise to me-- forget-me-nots.  This plant has unexpectedly bloomed at a time that leaves me speechless.  It is a total mystery to me.  I'm waiting to see if it will give the garden any more flowers.

 

  

The fuschia still has a few blooms to offer.  It has usually finished by the time the real heat comes.  But the common sight of a begonia in orange-red bloom is a real joy.  It exults in the heat, gathering a deeper color flower.  Its leaves are edged in red in response to the small amount of intense sun it receives.  It is really great seeing all these flowers so close.  My eye knows the beauty from afar, but the camera brings them nearer than they appear. Hurrah for technology!

In Praise of August Favorites

 

These black-eyed Susans next to my mounding Juniper have greeted me each time I come out of the door.  I've enjoyed their faces as I emerge from sleep's cocoon each morning.

 

The gomphrena or globe amaranth have withstood the heat this month the best.  They've not lost their purple strawflower-like blooms ever since I planted them.

 

 

These roses have continued to bloom, my Sundance and my mystery rose, as someone gave me this bush found at a market fair.

The leafy begonias have almost made it through the heat. And there is another gardenia blossom on my bush.

 

One of my favorites, the cranesbill geranium in miniature, is one of the stars of the native rock garden.   It's tiny blossoms last through most hot days with a little water every day or so.  To end summer with such a group is honor indeed.  I wish they would not fade as the season changes, but I will find others to love in the next.  Here we have an extended kind of fall throughout the winter.  Very soon I'll be planting for this extended fall.