Facing the Light

Posted on July 21, 2012 by composerinthegarden

Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher. William Wordsworth

As daylily season winds down, I spend each morning removing spent blooms and reflecting on how new blossoms turn towards the light. When I first began gardening, I was dismayed to find that the daffodils and daylilies I had planted along the paths turned to face the sun but often faced away from garden visitors. It was like being in a hall before the concert starts and looking at the back of everyone’s head and an empty stage. It took a while to get the hang of planting flowers with faces in the right spot, often with a sturdy shrub at their backs, so that they turned towards the light and the garden visitor.

I cannot help but see the metaphor of this, of trying to find one’s place in life, preferably with a friend at one’s back, so that it is easier to face the light. As always, the garden teaches me a gentle lesson. Here are a few photos of daylilies and other flowers with faces as the garden nears the end of the July flower extravaganza. Enjoy!

To see more photos of light in nature, visit Carol’s Light Words and Robin’s Life in the Bogs; Kerry has a wonderful series of light filled photos of the Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks of Utah in his Lightscapes Nature Photography Blog. I will be taking a two week vacation from the blogging world; I look forward to catching up in August, the first anniversary of this blog.

Autumn Wood

Black swallowtail on Evermore Edge

Brown Witch daylily

College Colors

Elizabeth Salter daylily

Fairy Firecracker daylily

Five O’Clock Shadow daylily

Later Alligator

Nosferatu, Echinacea, Swallowtail

Pansies and petunias

Petunia and phlox

Planet Max daylily

Prince of Purple & Brookwood Black Kitten

Ruby Spider daylily

Ruby Spider & Dark Avenger

Susan Weber daylily

Trahlyta

Tribute To Dan

Every moment of light and dark is a miracle. Walt Whitman

Beauty for a Day

Posted on June 22, 2012 by composerinthegarden

Hemerocallis or daylily – from the Greek “hemera” (day) and “kalos” (beautiful) translated as “beauty for a day” – a hardy perennial native to China, Japan, and Korea whose flowers last for only one day

Although I have been deep in multiple projects for the past two weeks, I found time the past few mornings to grab a few photos from the garden. The intense heat has driven garden bloom from rose season into daylily season.

I love daylilies for their huge variety of color, shape, size and durability. If you are only familiar with the orange roadside dayilies, you may be surprised to find that there are literally thousands of modern hybrids to choose from, often with fanciful names and exotic shapes and patterns. I love coordinating daylily bloom colors with other flowers and foliage. One of my favorite color beds in the garden is the “grape and lemonade” bed – cool lemons and deep purples, a color scheme inspired by daylily ‘Etched Eyes’ hybridized by Matthew Kaskel.

Here are a few portraits of the early season bloomers. For more information on the wonderful world of daylilies, visit the American Hemerocallis Society.

A Breed Apart

Blue Eyed Butterfly

Bubbly

Dark Star

Diabolique

Etched Eyes

Full Moon Magic

Grape and Lemonade Bed

Intricate Etchings

Lonesome Dove

Deck border

Roger Grounds

Strawberry Fields Forever with roses

Tiger Eye Spider

Wind Frills

Wisest Of Wizards

Breakfast in the Treetop Bistro

Posted on June 9, 2012 by composerinthegarden

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast. ~John Gunther (American journalist & author)

This morning was a perfect moment – the air cool but not chilly, the sky a clear blue, and a light breeze bringing the fragrant scents of the garden up to the deck. I celebrated with a long lingering breakfast in the Treetop Bistro, the name for our upper deck.

The two decks along the back facing the woods were a big factor in choosing this house. The upper deck, reached by a spiral staircase, was where I originally planned the garden. The perfect place for morning coffee, it started out as a calm blue and cream place with wicker chairs, a birdbath, and some potted plants, and served its purpose well.

But then two years ago, with a thunderous crash, a huge old oak fell on the house on a calm windless day, taking out the lower deck, part of the roof, part of the upper deck, and most of the furniture and pots. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the garden and decks were a construction zone all summer.

It seemed a good time to rethink the upper deck; I wanted to create a colorful hideaway for a cup of morning coffee or a glass of evening wine. Taking into account the dark brown house and the green wall of treetops, I settled on a mix of rose, coral, orange, gold, and dark red.

The area rugs are actually woven vinyl, called Mad Mats, an inexpensive but attractive way to create the feel of an outdoor room, easy to hose down all summer and roll up to store for the winter. Brown outdoor paint pulled together a mish mash of furniture, a few pillows were added, and the “bistro” was born.

Not only did I want a certain color scheme that was warm and cheerful, I wanted the feel of a secluded bistro like so many I have visited in France, Italy, and Spain, tucked away in a side street and surrounded by old trees. Hayracks and pots holding flowers, herbs, lettuces, and tomatoes turned it into a lush kitchen garden as well.

The bench invites a quiet moment in the treetops.

Sometimes Angel Eyes takes a nap on the bench.

And breakfast? It was delicious!

Want to see what the plantings will look like by the end of summer? See a slideshow from last September that includes some photos of the Treetop Bistro’s first season.

I had to delay the video deconstruction of “Breath” until a later date because of work on several projects; next week, I hope to premiere the second part of The Four Elements – “Light”. Enjoy your weekend!

Abbondanza!

Posted on May 27, 2012 by composerinthegarden

Abbondanza – Italian for abundance

A mild winter and a warm wet spring has set the garden awash in flowers and foliage beyond all expectation. Every day, another dozen flowers bloom for the first time – each morning is a new vision of color and texture, a subtle shift from the day before. And the scent! Wild honey locust in the woods mingle their heavy sweet fragrance with the climbing roses scrambling along the fence, with subtler notes from the iris and cranesbills. Birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and bees of all stripes hover and swoop through the garden. Here are some photos of the garden in the past few days. Enjoy!

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For a wonderful essay and photos on abundance in the garden, visit Catherine O’Meara’s post “First Person, Present” in her blog The Daily Round.

Anyone who has a library and a garden wants for nothing. Cicero

Deep Purple

Posted on May 6, 2012 by composerinthegarden

It was a beautiful day here in Western PA – skipper and black swallowtail butterflies flitted around the garden and dark rich colors blossomed everywhere. Here are a few photos of deep purple flowers. Next week, some new music!

Bearded Iris

Clematis Ramona

Clematis The President

Columbine Barlow Blue

Columbine William Guiness

Purple Violas

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Category Archives: Color in the Garden