Smiling Asters

Next year I will cut this Aster plant back several times to avoid the legginess seen this year, which I've lassoed in with a thick piece of twine. Bees are still afoot in my garden thanks to it. The above shot was taken in the late afternoon shade, the below one in mid-morning light. What beautiful little faces in those flowers!

Veneer of Snow

Things sure do turn on a dime around here.

Autumn Light

Since the arrival of fall, I'm convinced the Porter Plains Garden is my favorite garden at Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG). The grasses, rabbitbrush, broom snakeweed, Helianthus and asters sway in the breeze, relfecting the golden autumn light.

'Til Next Year

Summer on its way out, many of my long-blooming gems are still going. The plant budget dried up, so I'm working on tolerating the gaps, rather than running out to fill them. Looking at this thumbnail, the pink rocks near the Hybrid Crane's Bill need to go. I'm digging the blues in the background, warm colors up front, and threads of gold throughout. One can't go wrong limiting the palette to primaries.

Greyish Green and Gold

Lately the combination of greyish green and gold in my garden is captivating, especially in the late afternoon. A cascade of Chrysothamnus nauseosus var. nauseosus, spreading mound of Gutierrezia sarothrae, and Artemesia filifolia and A. arborescens shimmer in the late summer light. Here, Agave parryi v. neomexicana (with Agave parryi truncata and Chrysothamnus in the background) will soon show off its reddish tips from beneath our first fall snow.

Ripe

This Opuntia in the dryland garden at DBG was absolutely gorgeous in full sun today. If I had the patience I would sketch it then paint it in gouache.

Rabbitbrush in Bloom

What a sight this sea of rabbitbrush is, adjacent to Crown Hill Park in Wheat Ridge. A signal that fall is fast approaching!  A choice specimen, below, at the Kendrick Lake Demonstration Garden in Lakewood is a like a gold shag carpet.  The Chrysothamnus nauseosus (bottom) in my own garden will need another few weeks to come into full form.