69\u00a0 bar rises 29.73\u00a0 0mph NNW dew-point 57\u00a0 A summer night<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Last Quarter of the Flower Moon<\/p>\n
This time period, after the iris bloom and the lilacs have died back, we have annuals like petunias, begonias,\u00a0geraniums\u00a0and\u00a0vinca plus the odd Siberian Iris and peony, not many late June perennials in our garden.\u00a0We await now the Asiatic lilies.\u00a0 My\u00a0favorite among our flowers many of the\u00a0lilies in our garden came from lily fanciers who live in the upper midwest.\u00a0\u00a0 Purchased at a lily growers special season sale at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, they come in beautiful colors and many, like the Star Gazer, have scents that beguile.\u00a0 A bit later the hemerocallis,\u00a0day lilies, will begin to bloom.\u00a0They will take us into September along with the Liguria, the bug bane and the bush Clematis.<\/p>\n
It is a clear night.\u00a0\u00a0Stars light\u00a0the\u00a0sky, ancient messengers\u00a0of events and objects of long past.\u00a0They are deep history, a counterpoint to the\u00a0now.\u00a0\u00a0Insects chirp.\u00a0 The occasional owl hoots.\u00a0 Maybe the sound of some small animal scurrying through the grass in search of food.\u00a0 A bats quick, furtive flight crosses the moon’s half lit face.<\/p>\n
These nights offer a softness and\u00a0elegance found only in the natural world.\u00a0 There is no need for fancy dress, cocktails or dance music.\u00a0 All you have to do is walk outside\u00a0and share the\u00a0company.\u00a0 Your clothing or lack of it will not matter. Some of the party may find you irrestible, of course.\u00a0 Yes, unwanted attention sometimes mars a quiet night.\u00a0 It does show, though, that\u00a0you have a niche.\u00a0You are the canape.<\/p>\n
Kate and I spoke to Mary on Skype today.\u00a0\u00a0 Arranging a physical connection with Singapore has its modest challenges.\u00a0 She called us, for example, at 11:00 PM today, though it was 10:00 AM here.\u00a0 Today has long since turned into tomorrow there.\u00a0 She’s off this week finishing the revisions to her dissertation.\u00a0 Then it heads out to her supervisor for one last check, then onto external readers.\u00a0 More revisions likely.\u00a0 Finally, the oral defense sometime from now.\u00a0 Later, awarding of the\u00a0doctorate.\u00a0 Pretty cool.<\/p>\n
She may visit the temperate latitudes building at the Botanical Gardens as a treat for finishing.\u00a0 That’s where they have trees and plants adapted to cold weather,\u00a0a mirror to our conservatories with their palms and philodendrons and other tropical vegetation.\u00a0 A strange notion from the perspective of Minnesota.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
69\u00a0 bar rises 29.73\u00a0 0mph NNW dew-point 57\u00a0 A summer night \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Last Quarter of the Flower Moon This time period, after the iris bloom and the lilacs have died back, we have annuals like petunias, begonias,\u00a0geraniums\u00a0and\u00a0vinca plus the odd Siberian Iris and peony, not many late June perennials in our garden.\u00a0We await now the … Continue reading Cool House Plants<\/span>