Wed- er..Thursday Vignette
Today is a late edition of Wednesday Vignette, hosted by Anna at Flutter&Hum. I took this photo a few days ago and had every intention of sharing it on Wednesday, but well, stuff happens.
It's dry in my garden. The Douglas firs that provide my only significant shade also suck up every spare drop of moisture within reach of their roots. Add to that a significant increase in late afternoon sunlight in an area of the garden that used to have the densest afternoon shade, and you get this:
This is what happens to Petasites japonicus var. giganteus in my garden. Even before the neighbor to the west clear-cut last year, this plant struggled by August, but never to this degree. It's actually kind of beautiful, and that's the lesson I'm taking from it. Find the beauty in decay. At least in your garden and in nature. Not to get too political, but I don't advocate the same philosophy for our current administration.
A wider view shows most of the plant. "Rain!" it screams. I do water it, along with the rhododendrons it shares this border with, but it's in the back and probably doesn't get as much of that water as the shrubs get. This is the reality of a lazy gardener with higher watering priorities.
It's dry in my garden. The Douglas firs that provide my only significant shade also suck up every spare drop of moisture within reach of their roots. Add to that a significant increase in late afternoon sunlight in an area of the garden that used to have the densest afternoon shade, and you get this:
This is what happens to Petasites japonicus var. giganteus in my garden. Even before the neighbor to the west clear-cut last year, this plant struggled by August, but never to this degree. It's actually kind of beautiful, and that's the lesson I'm taking from it. Find the beauty in decay. At least in your garden and in nature. Not to get too political, but I don't advocate the same philosophy for our current administration.
A wider view shows most of the plant. "Rain!" it screams. I do water it, along with the rhododendrons it shares this border with, but it's in the back and probably doesn't get as much of that water as the shrubs get. This is the reality of a lazy gardener with higher watering priorities.
Ha - you are a man of my own mind, Evan! There is a lot of beauty in decay... In fact, it was the way the light fell on a rotten pepper that was the impetus for this meme! I hope your poor Petasites get some rain soon - I hope we all do. It is so DRY!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the end of watering duty!
DeleteI hope you get rain soon! August can be such a struggle.
ReplyDeleteMe, too! We had a tiny bit last Sunday, just enough to wet the soil surface and top off the rain barrels.
DeleteAnd that was after 55 days with no measurable precipitation.
DeleteThe leaf close-up does look like a work of art. While I too think we can see beauty in natural decay, I agree with your comment to the effect that the same can't be said for the rot coming out of the White House.
ReplyDeleteThe more brown and yellow leaf makes me think of lava, the cooled surface cracking open to reveal the still-molten rock within. That's about how I feel about summer.
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