Autumn Favorites

The stonecrops are ghostly pale this fall and I'm not used to seeing them like that, normally they turn up rosy hues as soon as the middle of August; it must be the rain, they didn't have enough sunshine to start ripening.

Despite the wet weather the fall bloomers are right on time - the prolific plumbago, the delicate morning glory, the tall grasses, the plush panaches of goldenrod.

A giant clump of cleomes decided to assert itself, sprouting intense lilac and magenta spikes in all directions, to keep company to the French mallow, whose continued dedication to sprout volunteers throughout an entire decade I find humbling. It just won't quit.

In the midst of late summer chaos, while rain pounded the garden mercilessly, I spider architected a giant web, a masterpiece of engineering, really. I can't figure out how the little weaver spanned the distances required to hold it up into the open, where it appears to be floating, not subject to gravity, not to mention how the delicate gossamer managed to weather the heavy downpours.