Still Clinging To Summer With All My Might

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium 'Pomegranate')
(Click picture to enlarge)

"At the heart of gardening there is a belief in the miraculous." ~ Mirabel Osler

I know it is getting colder and time to close the vents around the outside of the house. It is time to bubble wrap the planters... yes, I am bubble wrapping the planters and if I get time, I will fashion some little snuggies for them as well. I have seen these things in catalogues but being the mizer, I might just get some cheap material and make some... or just stick batting all around. But I ramble. Here, it has been cool or even cold at night but during the day there is a marked warmth in the air, at least when the wind isn't blowing. This leads to the inevitable fog and last night was no exception. Around midnight, the ground fog rolled in and it was dense, not only over the golf course but in the streets through the neighborhood. Quite spooky and wonderful. I think we have the fog here much worse than Virginia Beach as we are so close the the Great Dismal Swamp. In the early morning as the sun comes up, there is a gorgeous pink and purple and yellow swirl just above the grey-white fog held low to the ground. It burns off by 8AM but will reappear at midnight....

The weather description is for my daughter the geologist/meteorologist/geographer graduate student who laments weekly on the lack of REAL weather out in Nevada. Hot in day, cold at night, some rain, fair lightning good for photos, but no REAL weather. Snow.. yes, but not really her cup of tea. She wants the "meaty" weather... hurricanes, tornados, nor'easters, hail, fog... and so on. Now for the real post.

I planted yarrow this year, two varieties... Appleblossom, a light pink that fades to white and Pomegranate, a deep rich red that barely fades at all. I love the wispy fragile foliage that breaks up the stiff leaves of surrounding bushes and the spiked leaves of the candy lily and daylily. These red blooms brought color and an added spice to that corner of the bed. Had I been brilliant and a little more liberal with the shears, they might still be blooming. As it were, I waited until the last bloom had faded and dried before deadheading them and trimming the greenery and the blooms did not return. The foliage is doing just fine though and I really hope I don't have to cut them back any time soon for the winter.

In building my plantfolio... gardener's notebook... I found that "Milfoil, Achillea, or Yarrow" has long been symbolic of Scottish melancholy .. generally a melancholy or sadness associated with warfare along the border with England, as in the valley of the Yarrow River. I never knew the Scotts were that sad! Thrifty, but not sad! Many of these plants are said to have a wide variety of medicinal purposes but I would be hesitant to try any of the remedies... I would probably get the wrong strength to the tea or some other mess up. Instead, I'll just enjoy the flowers and try to remember to snip.. snip... snip... more often next summer.

(end of post)
Ruby Tuesday