There is a pink tutu dancing in my garden.
Be not afraid. I am not gardening in tulle.
It’s my Pink Muhly Grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris.
The wind is blowing and it is putting on a show.
The sun makes it sparkle.
Just when most perennials are headed off stage, here comes ‘Miss Muhly’ dancing in her pink tutu.
What a great show in the garden. Bravo!
FLOW
Here is that color again. Orange, but not orange.
I think the pink eye plays tricks on the human eye.
The name on the tag is ‘Orange Perfection’ garden phlox by Garden Rich.
It does not stand up straight like some phlox or creep along on the ground like other phlox.
It reclines on the rocks.
I like the contrast between the orange and gray.
I like its cascading to soften the rock edges.
I got this right by accident. Phlox on the rocks serendpity.
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I was so happy to see that my white foxglove had not left the garden.
I had no white blooms last year. I wondered if it was gone.
Foxglove blooms are some of my favorites.
Flower
We are fine. Much has transpired. Staying safe is not easy. Please follow precautions.
I wanted to share this gorgeous dianthus from the fairy garden.
It is magical!
This is Star Double Pop Star Dianthus.
This is its second year in this location.
It seems to be very happy here.
I hope all of you are able to stay well.
Wash hands, wear a mask, social distancing, stay home…you know the drill.
I miss us.
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Blowing Rock is full of flowers.
I always look forward to strolling along while enjoying the lovely combinations.
There are planters and gardens everywhere.
September is especially lovely because of the cool weather.
There are many places to eat, shop or people watch.
Blowing Rock is a charming little mountain town.
I am always inspired by my visits there.
Flower
How would you like to be named after your favorite food?
Ms. Chocolate Eclair? Mr. Potato Chip? Mrs. Pimento Cheese?
Well someone named these bugs after their food, Large Milkweed Bug.
Its Latin name is not much better, Oncopeltus fasciatus. That sounds like a disease!
I found these on my Butterfly weed which is in the Milkweed family.
Here is an adult on a seed pod.
These nymphs do not have wings yet.
They are the same color as the Asclepias blooms.
Is this camouflage? I doubt it.
You are what you eat. These are toxic due to the milk weed seeds that they ingest.
They don’t need to hide.
Flower (Ms. Mongolian Beef)
One of the stars of August is this magical plant, Talinum paniculatum ‘Limon’.
I do love its chartreuse leaves.
I love its tiny pink blooms.
But its best feature is its seeds.
That is why its common name is Jewels of Opar.
These little round seeds sparkle in the sunshine.
They also drop to the ground and germinate.
So the jewels have dropped and scattered over the years.
Those familiar chartreuse leaves show up wherever the plant was located last season
or in the pots of other plants next to the pots where they bloom.
I do truly love this plant, jewel dropping and all!
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I am so thankful for this beautiful and easy plant, Stokesia laevis ‘Peachie’s Pick.’
When other flowers start to wilt and fade in the July heat, it steps it up.
I do not give this one any special treatment.
I divide it every few years.
It has thrived wherever I plant it.
No wonder it’s ‘Peachie’s Pick’ Stokes Aster.
Whoever Peachie is, she know her plants. Butterflies like it, too.
Flower
The Belamcanda chinensis are competing for attention in a rather crowded field of flowers today.
These beauties are really in the iris family, but are called Blackberry lilies.
There are several colors.
My dark “Leopard Lily” must have crossed with
my yellow “Candy Lily”
to produce this unusual tie-dyed look.
Another surprise in the garden!
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