Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Late Summer Afternoon Light






Orange Cannas burn . .
Set alight by evening sun . . .
Atop emerald coals.












Tender nasturtiums . . .
Translucent, fragrant, fragile . . .
First frost -- they'll be gone.

Remember -- click on the photos to enlarge for the full effect.



But wait! There's more!

Here's a link to pictures of a gorgeous garden that belongs to my friends Kathy and Richard. Kathy, for those of you who read my Goodweather series, is the inspiration for Sallie Kate, Elizabeth's realtor friend.
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11 comments:

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I'm really going to miss the summer flowers. You can eat nasturtium flowers you know. When I was growing up my mother did not like cannas but our gardener Dewey did. He would bring them from home and plant them, often without her consent, in the flower beds. I think of Dewey every time I see cannas and I've come to appreciate the bright, almost tropical beauty they bring to the garden each summer.
Sam

Vicki Lane said...

Oh yes, I like the flowers in salads -- and the tender leaves I sometimes chiffonade and put in too. I've read that the seed pods can be pickled and used like capers but have never tried it.

I have mixed feelings about cannas -- they seem out of place in my mountain garden but a friend gave me these and I too have come to appreciate them -- as if I'd suddenly found a toucan in the midst of the cardinals and goldfinches.

Christopher C. NC said...

Hi Vicki. Thanks for the link. It is sending quite a bit of traffic my way, then hopefully on to Kathy and someone she will be able to help put down roots in this wonderful mountain soil.

Nasturtiums sulk up here in my high cool elevation. Cannas I would bet would to. Someone sent me a cold hardy banana, Musa basjoo, that will only grow two weeks out of the year. It survived minus four last winter though under heavy mulch.

Miss_Yves said...

Beautiful colours !
I know that nasturtium can be eaten in salads, but I 've never tried !
The French translation of nasturtium is "Capucine" which is also alovely female Christian name .

I love your poem about this flower.

Montaigne is often studied by pupils and students in France .

Vicki Lane said...

Hello, Christopher -- I enjoyed my visit to your blog -- and seeing your fine pictures of K and R's place.

That's pretty amazing about the banana -- I've never tried one. I have some tender things that I haul into my tiny greenhouse for the winter.

Capucine -- a very pretty name, Miss Yves. I wonder if it's related to the hooded habits of Capuchin monks -- which the flowers do resemble. Hmm. And we have yet another flower called monkshood.

Stella Jones said...

Beautiful pictures Vicki and doesn't it make a difference when one clicks on the picture. I can see every little insect and every little hair on the plant, magic!
Blessings, Star

Vicki Lane said...

Oh, yes, Star, I love that 'biggifying' feature.

Miss_Yves said...

Beautiful captures !
How right you are, when you describe Eddy,full of "feline grace" when he "streches luxuriously"
Cats are fond of books , Baudelaire and Apollinaire noticed that fact !

Vicki Lane said...

My cats like best the books I'm trying to read -- and they show their appreciation by sitting on the open pages.

Merisi said...

You captured the light so beautifully!

Montaigne is read by most school children in Europe, I dare say. I recently noticed new German translations.

My old paperback edition of his essays gets pulled from the shelf a couple times a year and then I loose myself in his thoughts.

Autumn is in the air.
It is half past six in the evening, my window is still open (I love listening to the church bells at six, Angelus, from 3 or 4 churches in the area), I shall close it now, there's a bit of chill.

Vicki Lane said...

How lovely to hear the church bells!

I need to find my Montaigne and read a bit too -- a nice civilized Sunday evening pursuit.