You Go On Ahead

| Flower Roberts

If you walk in the woods with me, plan on walking alone.

While you are getting your heart rate up, I will be bending down to examine red berries.

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You will jump over this log, but I will stop to admire a fungi castle on top, among a forest of moss.

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You will be looking strait ahead , but I will look down to watch a woolly worm wiggle across my path.

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You will quickly round this curve in the trail,  I will pause to wave at a big old rock that is smiling at me.

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You will loudly stroll by these stones, but I know a troll lives here, so I will I tiptoe past quietly.

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You will avoid muddy spots , but I  will closely to examine them for prints of the claws of my other friends.

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When you see this tree, you will frown at this hole in the trunk,

but I will smile because I know that it is a door to a fairy’s home.

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So you go on ahead,

I will be behind you

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enjoying all the wonders that you missed as you hurried past.

FLOW (Moseying through the Mountains)

Moses Cone Manor

| Flower Roberts

Between the mountains and the sky of North Carolina

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is a mansion

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with a view of a lovely lake in the valley below.

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I have rocked on the porch

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and climbed the stairs to wander its rooms and peek out its windows

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and think of a time,  when a man with a vision

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could see it to its fruition, by age fifty one.

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Amazing.

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FLOWER

Embracing Change

| Flower Roberts

This is the first fall that I have accepted the change in season

without the usual waves of melancholy that follow.

I am ready for a change.

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I will finishing up two long term projects in the coming months.

When these are completed, I will be moving on to a new challenge.

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Let the chips fall where they may as the leaves fall in the coming days.

It may be maturity or tiredness.  No matter.

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I am ready.

Bring it.

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FLOWER

 

Sierra Nevada Brewery near Asheville

| Flower Roberts

We stopped be this lovely establishment, the Sierra Nevada Brewery,

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as we passed through the mountains yesterday evening.

We did not have the time to take a guided tour and do a tasting.

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We did enjoy strolling through the upstairs and looking down on the huge vats

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and peering through windows at the bottling machinery.

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There were lovely gardens with many annuals and vegetables.

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There were even some hops vines growing up on trellises.

I had no idea hops had such a nutty aroma.

It was a nice break in our journey.

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If you find yourself passing through the North Carolina mountains,

you may want to drop by for a meal and maybe a drink.

FLOW

Coffee Cups Cause Trouble Again

| Flower Roberts

I featured this particular elephant ear last year.

At that time it was planted beside one of the fish ponds.

I was thrilled with its placement until its cupped leaves filled up with

caterpillar poop from the oaks above.

Thus the post entitled “Coffee Cups Caterpillar Crapper.

https://floweralley.org/2017/08/19/coffee-cups-caterpillar-crapper/

Later in the season, the leaves filled up with tiny acorns, then falling leaves.

I considered the oak tree above to be the issue,

so this year I moved it to the front of the house.

Today’s heavy rains from hurricane Michael filled the cups with water.

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The plant fell over onto its Mojito elephant ear neighbor,

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which flopped over onto the giant Frydek elephant ear cluster.

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We had ourselves an elephant ear avalanche.

Colocasia leaves are supposed to tip and dump water,

not hold it until the whole plant flops over.

This domino disaster has ruined my prized  Mojito.

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Where can this plant go where it won’t cause any more trouble?

Hmmmmmm?

Coffee Cup Colocasia compost.

FLOWER

A Gift from Florence

| Flower Roberts

There’s a new weed in town.

Really it was here before, but Florence has made it flourish.

There had been small spots of Virginia Buttonweed in the lawn

before hurricane Florence brought all the rain.

Now this Diodia virginia has spread into huge mats.

Step one is to pull it up.

Step two will require the bare spots to be treated and reseeded.

This plant reproduces by hairy seeds and pieces of roots and stems.

I was just removing the bulk of the problem.

Then it’s Mr Flower’s job to fix and fill in.

I spent two days scooting across the grass on my sled pulling up clumps of this weed.

I hope Hurricane Michael doesn’t bring any more trouble.

I have bushels of it all ready!

FLO

 

Hang these Weirdos

| Flower Roberts

Epiphytes get their name from living on other plants.

This does not mean that they are parasites, just that they share space with larger plants for support.

They have long succulent leaves that are heavy.  These have strange shapes that may vary on the same plant.

I have several Epiphyllums.

Since they normally live in the semishade of trees in Mexico,

I hang them in trees so that they will feel at home.

Both of these Epiphyllums were obtained as pieces, not whole plants.

I asked to buy cuttings from two of my favorite garden centers.

No point in my buying a giant plant when a piece will do.

I know that this orchid cactus will bloom red.  It has not as of yet, but its parent plant had red blooms.

These Epiphyllums bloom during fall or winter, so I hope to see a bloom soon.

This fishbone/zigzag cactus should have white or yellow blooms.

Its blooms are nocturnal.  I will be watching both these plants in the coming weeks for signs of buds.

If you get an Epiphyllum, you had best hang it up.

They love to swing in the breeze from the trees.

FLOWER

 

My Three Favorite Dahlias

| Flower Roberts

I have many dahlias.  It may not surprise you that most of them are purple.

I have three favorites.  Only one of which is purple.

These three are the most trouble, because they are dinner plate dahlias.

The blooms are so large that plant must be supported by stakes and fences.

These three need more water that the smaller dahlias. They need more nutrients.

It takes a lot of work on my part and the plant’s part to produce those big beautiful blooms.

I have decided to let some of my dahlias go.   I can’t bring them all in.

There is not enough space… or energy… or time to save them all.

So which three will be dug up, stored and treasured?

Firepot Dahlia

The three big, needy ones will.

Thomas A. Edison dahlia
Snowy Country dahlia

Because when we work together, we make something beautiful.

Synergy in the garden.

FLOW

The Year of the Eggplant

| Flower Roberts

I promised my readers more purple and here it is.

An edible purple fruit, eggplant.  Call it a vegetable if you must.

I got three small plants from the same source in June.

All three have been producing fruit for months.

This is the biggest plant.   It is sprawled out like a large shrub.

I have had to prop up its limbs to keep the fruit off the ground.

With all this eggplant, I have had to get creative with recipes.

Eggplant Parmesan, eggplant lasagna, eggplant sauce on spaghetti-squash, eggplant casserole, ratatouille…

Still the eggplants keep coming…and it’s October.

I wonder how eggplant would taste with pumpkin spice?

If you want some, let me know.  I will share with plenty to spare.

Purple food.    What a wonderful world!

FLOW