Purple Stars on the Clematis

Clematis, Jello Mold Farm

“The common hill-flowers wither, but they blossom again.  The laburnum will be as yellow next June as it is now.  In a month there will be purple stars on the clematis, and year after year the green night of its leaves will hold purple stars.  But we never get back our youth.”
— Oscar Wilde, from “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

Clematis seed case

 

Imprecision’s Virtues

“You must not know too much or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and watercraft: a certain free margin and even vagueness — ignorance, credulity — helps your enjoyment of these things.”
— Walt Whitman, Specimen Days

Clematis seedhead

I certainly fit Whitman’s description of someone who appreciates the aesthetics of things without understanding their scientific workings or names.  When I go out into the world, my eye seeks beautiful and interesting shapes and patterns, and I often don’t know what exactly I am looking at.

I remember the first time I photographed a clematis seedhead.  I sent the photo to the Plant Answer Line at the Elisabeth C. Miller horticultural library, and they identified it for me.  I don’t always take the time for this type of research, but I do appreciate how the internet connects me so easily with experts who are willing to share their knowledge with a stranger.  We live in a marvelous world!

I am drawn to the clematis seedheads because they make me smile.  Their swirly, feathered tails are like looking into a miniature whirlpool.  There is something funny about their fluffy, ball shape — kind of like waking up to a bad hair day.  At other times, I love the grace of their calligraphic lines.

Here are some clematis in the early October gardens of Jello Mold Farm:

 

Wordless Wednesdays: 12 Views of Pink Blooms and Blossoms

A Trip to Janet’s Flower Farm

Zinnia, J Foss Garden Flowers

I took advantage of the lingering sunny summer weather to take a drive south to J Foss Garden Flowers of Chehalis.  I met Janet a couple of years ago and had dreamed of someday wandering her flower fields with camera in hand.  This has been an unusually dry summer, and that presented challenges this year for flower growers.  But farming is like that.  I saw much beauty in the flower beds on Janet’s farm.  I think you will agree.

Delphiniums in the greenhouse

Delphinium shadows

Clear blue delphinium

Zinnia bed

Zinnea

Limonium latifolium hybrid

Clematis

Clematis

Clematis

Celosia cristata ‘Cockscomb’

Brain-like cockscomb

Boltonia ‘Lime Dot’

Foxglove

Foxglove

Cosmos

Achillea millefolium terracotta

Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums

J Foss Garden Flowers

Van loaded with cut flowers, ready for the market

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Breath of Kindness

Clematis blooms

“Oh, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person:  having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them out.  Just as they are — chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping,and then with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”
— Dinah Maria (Mulock) Craik, 1826 – 1887.  This is the epigraph to Jan Karon’s Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good

I just finished an advance reader copy of Jan Karon’s newest book in the Mitford series, Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good.  It was like meeting up with old friends after long absence.  What joy to pick up the characters’ stories from where they left off.  Two years now since he retired, Father Tim is still trying to find a meaningful way to spend his days.  There are plenty of occasions for Esther’s famous Orange Marmalade Cake (see my earlier post about that at this link.)  And it does seem like Karon is passing the baton to Dooley at the end of the book, so I’m hoping that this means more Mitford books will be forthcoming.

Like me, Karon seems to enjoy incorporating good quotes into her story.  Here are two more favorites from this newest book:

“Love is an act of endless forgiveness.”

“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions — the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasure and genial feelings.”
— Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

 

Searching for a Color Wheel in August

Blue hydrangea petals

I set out on a recent neighborhood walk to photograph a color wheel in the hues of a Seattle summer day.

Green acorns amidst green oak leaves

Yellow — floral suns in a blue sky

Orange signals summer road construction projects

Red flowers in a hanging basket in the shade of a porch

Violet clematis

And back to blue — the cloudless skies of a midsummer day

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Nonconformity

Here’s to the misfits, the renegades, the nonconformists . . . those who stand out in the crowd!!  (I’ve deliberately left out mavericks — this noun is forever tainted for me because of past associations with she-who-will-not-be-named.)

One white clematis blossom among its purple neighbors

And to those who prefer to remain hidden among the crowd and behind the scenes.

Purple clematis blossoms

Day Trip to Whidbey Island: Bayview Nursery

Laburnum arbor, Bayview Nursery

Spring is proceeding at breathless pace, and one of my favorite places to savor the fresh colors and blooms is Bayview Farm and Garden on Whidbey Island.  I mark my calendar each year so that I remember to make the trip there when the laburnum arbor is in full glory.  The cascading flowers of Golden Chain give the impression that you are sitting under a floral waterfall.  The double arbor alone makes Bayview Farm and Garden a worthy destination, but of course, the rest of the nursery is also full of visual treats.

A garden Buddha

Clematis

Hollyhocks

Fuchsias

“Fuchsias are among my ninety-nine most favourite flowers. . . . I could go on for hours, and probably shall, one day, about their white petticoats and their crimson ruffs and the incredible grace with which they dispose themselves.”
— Beverley Nichols, Sunlight on the Lawn

Purple Clemetis

Clematis vine

Clematis

Clematis (rear view)

Clematis

Watercolor sketch of clematis

Another watercolor sketch of clematis

 

 

 

 

 

Walking the Color Wheel: Seattle’s Summer Purples

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”
–Alice Walker

Pale purple gladiolus

A purple trio of geranium flowers

Purple pansies all in a row

Purple poppies

Lovely magenta poppies

Poppy

Somewhere between purple and red, knautica macedonica

Plum-colored hydrangea

Allium

Clematis vine

Late season lavender

Fuchsia-colored foxglove, purplish pink

Purplish-pinks and blues of sweet peas

Plums, Pike Place Market

Bing cherries, Pike Place Market

This concludes our walks along the color wheel.  Hope you enjoyed the rambles!