Seasons Change...

and so do blogs,lol. I have done quite a bit of rearranging in my personal blogosphere and freed up this delightful background for use here at Little Wing Garden. I hope you like it as much as I do. Yes, I know the Black Swallowtail butterfly in my header pic is not in focus. I meant to do that:^)

Although the garden hasn't had time to catch up yet Fall did indeed arrive this past weekend. The past few nights have been downright cold. It's like an actual knob has been turned to Autumn. This photo of Japanese Beautyberry with Lindheimer's Muhly Grass in the background is probably the most seasonally approriate pic that I have to share today.



This is the first flower open on the Georgia Aster that was in bud in my last post. with a visitor. Not sure if it's a bee or a fly~ perhaps both? lol.



I feel certain the abundant rain is to thank for this new bloom stalk from Crinum 'Ellen Bosanquet' who has been on strike since June.

a.m.~


p.m.~


Persicaria 'Firetail' is happily blooming beside my deck where it has rooted through its nursery pot



and spiderwort 'Sweet Kate' decided she liked the rain as well.



Guess what this is:)



or who,lol. My perfect Yin and Yang Poms: boy/girl, black/white, old/young~ well maybe not perfect~ sweet/sweet.

And then it rained...

It's been quite a while since my last update on the garden. September turned back to hot and dry after Labor Day weekend and the garden was just looking sort of pitiful. I took a few pictures a week ago on Friday and a couple more Sunday morning since I can't bear not to take ANY pictures.

This is Miscanthus 'Cabaret' on the 24th just coming into full bloom.



I never finished the cleanup from last year in the big bed- especially in the center where goldenrod, wild ageratum and the Turk's Cap reside.



I transplanted this Celosia spicata in the thick of summer from where it self seeded next to the house. Out of three that I moved this is the first to bloom. The burgandy foliage makes the seedlings easy to identify and save from being weeded out(although that's not nearly the problem it used to be here:~).



I couldn't resist the buds on my biggest clump of Georgia Aster~ can't wait for them to open.



This~ as all of the above ~ was taken on the 24th with at least a couple more buds. One bloomed in the rain yesterday.



The only highlight to the Sunday morning pics was this wild Morning Glory since I was soon distracted and then...


******IT RAINED!!!!!!!!*********

heavily as you can see by this sprawled out version of the same Miscanthus 'Cabaret'




and the saturated deck boards under Meike during one of the few times she's been able to go out this week.



I really wish I had a rain gauge but suffice it to say we got alot,lol. Maybe I'll see some open blooms from the Swamp Sunflower this weekend:)

A Welcome Reprieve

After a wicked hot summer this Labor Day Weekend was a breath of fresh air~ literally. Blue skies, wispy clouds...

...a relaxing breeze...




What have we here?



A perfect perch!



'Cripple Creek' still going...



Some fresh new blooms on the Dianthus.



and a return to more summer like weather today.



A wonderful three day weekend♥

August's End

This August has been a month to remember in my personal life and although I don't have much of a subject for this post on the gardening front the simple recording of images- moments in time are comforting and worth sharing.

My last post had a teaser image of rebloom on one of my favorite performers~ Hibiscus 'Red Flyer' has returned for an encore.



My Energizer Bunny analogy for Daylily 'Cripple Creek' is still dead on. It's the only daylily in the garden that's even thinking about blooming right now.



The white form of American Beautyberry is at its brief peak for berry viewing.



This enthusiastic member of the Ipomea clan is trying to claim it's territory in a young Curly Willow.



Since I've learned how to create textures for use in Photoshop from my own photos I've been even more aware than I am normally of this attribute in the garden. The Georgia Aster has always been a favorite for its form~ here it is gearing up to bloom.



And the wabi sabi award for texture goes to this photo of fuzzy yucca seedpods with lovely bokeh.



Bring on September!

Angel Time

A peak around the corner from the parking area reveals the unmistakable star of the garden this past weekend~ Brugmansia, Angel's Trumpet. I'm not sure if this is a named Brug although it could very likely be 'Frosty Pink'. This plant was left in its large plastic pot against the house over winter a couple of years ago and to my surprise it has thrived ever since- having rooted thru the pot. Benign neglect paid off this once.



Hibiscus 'Red Flyer' is going to bless me with another bloom after taking a brief vacation.



We have lovely spent blooms~ these from the Pineapple Lily~



and future blooms such as these from Hibiscus grandiflorus being guarded by a Green Lynx spider.



A shady spot is always welcome.



My all around favorite garden plant~ Salvia. This is a seedling from S. farinacea 'Henry Duelberg' In its many different forms Salvia pulls my sprawled out garden beds together with something in bloom from start to finish of the growing season.

Bloom Day August 2010

The past couple of weeks have seen a slight rebound in growth and blooms in the garden despite the continued above average temps. The most evident(and one of the most prevalent in LWG) bloom has been from the salvias.

Cherry Chief



Salvia chamedryoides, Blue oak Sage



S. greggii~ white



S. greggii~ Bright Pink



Even the shy flowering 'Diane' with S. uliginosa, Bog Sage



S. farinacea 'Henry Duelberg' peeking out over thyme and a floppy stem of Euphorbia corolata



Then there's the Budleias- lindleyana




and 'Potter's Purple'



My first Mexican Petunia bloom of the year...



...and the second place price for rooting thru the pot and growing in the wrong place goes to Crape Myrtle 'Natchez' as seen blooming here with the lovely princess Meike.



I hope you are enjoying lots of blooms in your garden this August. Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more Bloom Day posts.

The Garden in a Different Light

The majority of my garden photos have been taken in the mornings. For years I was up and out every am to see what I could see and water the hoardes of potted plants. As I have creeped ever deeper into the world of web enterprise the frequency of my morning outings has changed. My fresh morning mind is directed to the task at hand~ monitoring blogs, posting products, promoting in any way that I can without spending money. All of this has added up to less and less photos being taken in the past month or so. As luck would have it I was in the right place yesterday(at home) at the right time(5ish in the afternoon) with camera in hand to capture a few new photos of the garden. I guess I needed a different perspective to inspire me.

Signs of recent rains can be found in fresh growth.



I have really enjoyed my Arbor Day Foundation Crape Myrtle this year. It was a slight bloomer until the past year or two. This has been the kind of summer here in the Carolinas that makes you appreciate these trees that are so often taken for granted by those of us who have known them all of their lives.




The faithful Rudbeckia triloba has been joined by the little Lantana 'Miss Huff' that could:) I thought I had removed her years ago but she has a strong will to live in the wilds of Rudbeckia and Blue Love Grass(2 heavy self seeders for me)




Daylily 'Volcan Fuego' is not for the faint of heart or the pastel garden but it's a great late season performer nonetheless~ Pretty strong color for a daylily in the late afternoon.



The Japanese Beautyberries ripen in the same order that they bloom ~from the insides of the branches out.



Even 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia has perked up a little from the rain. Rudbeckia 'Goldstrurm's blooms have been munched pretty badly this year. I made an effort to show you a better looking bloom.



Verbena aff xutha is a textural delight that has taken off blooming in the past week.



Feather Reed Grass blooms in front of an overgrown section of the big bed that is mostly full of 'Fireworks' Goldenrod and Hawkweed. A red accent comes from Malvaviscus, Turk's Cap.



:)))))))




So... when's your favorite time to shoot?