Toad-lily is an Autumn jewel in my garden .. it reminds me of an incredibly durable orchid.
It survives our winters .. our hot humid summers .. our in-between weather that makes you wonder what will happen next.
It looks so intricate and delicate , your eyes can't help but be drawn in, to study the form it takes.
Least of all those hairy , spiny options that also makes them look like a plant in the "Little Shop of Horrors" .. maybe it wants to bite you while you get that close ?
These pictures are shot in natural light and it seems to enhance a glow the flowers seem to have from within.
These shots are taken with a flash because this part of my garden is in deeper shade and timing for enough natural light is difficult, and it lasts literally minutes.
Can you notice the water droplets ? the morning sprinklers had gone off and left them with "tears".
Other jewels are the berries from my Variegated Porcelain Berry Vine.
The colours run rampant from very pale blue with freckles , deep blue, and finally purple.
The deep blue is an amazing foil against the green of the foliage.
I also think of "future jewels with benefits".
Iris pumila "Cherry Garden" was a new addition this Spring.
The foliage stays fresh all season along side this amazing also new heuchera "
Northern Exposure Amber" I am definitively getting more of these !! , plus Blue Mouse Ears hosta and sedum.
This is like money in the bank, with the hope the iris flowers will look gorgeous in the Spring.
Little Lamb is on her last legs of looking so darn "pretty in pink".
Her foliage is finally taking hits from the cold nights .. so the flowers will soon turn more brown than pink, sooner rather than later.
Ok .. technically ? these jewels are water droplets caught in a spider's web.
They still wowed me all the same .. especially the bottom ones that absolutely glistened like diamonds.
A jewel of another kind is the tenacity of a rouge Japanese Painted Fern that decided it was going to not only exist, but thrive in one very difficult situation "between a rock and a hard place"?
This hydrangea standard, "Pink Diamond" the name is rather fitting .. was a meeting place of jewels from the insect world .. It became a Monarch Butterfly Magnet !
I will never forget how many I saw enjoy the nectar alongside the hundreds of other pollinators.
It was the highlight of my garden year.
A few shots of the last days of glory for the back garden before I started my cutback and clean up for the winter.
I'm thrilled to see moss grow between the flagstone path.
A visual slice of garden pie, coming out of the ally way, to the back garden.
I've had some wonderful chances for great moon shots.
One very colourful morning by sheer luck, right place at the right time !
One very windy, dark, "Halloweeny" type night with leaves silhouetted, against the great shining orb.
Last night's shot of the moon while hanging out my bedroom window.
Don't ask, it's better not to know.
Thankfully for the neighborhood ? no one had to see me do those gymnastics !
