And the finely described pinwheels of the sweet autumn clematis seeds (Clematis paniculata or sometime c. terniflora).
The one aster (Aster novae angliae) plant that bloomed pink rather than purple like the rest.
I'm still enjoying the morning glories that are still magnificent,
and a sedum that drapes softly over some european ginger.
There are still some roses
The marigolds that I plant each year in honor of my mother are still blooming without a care,
and the fat seed heads of the sunflowers are now a smorgasbord for the goldfinch and chickadees.
Every single one of these things are the rewards I reap for making a garden. I never take them for granted. But today I got to savor one big reward for a decision I made 12 years ago. I like native plants and I like birds. I have made an effort to plant native shrubs that produce things birds like. Twelve years ago I planted a very small northern bayberry shrub (Myrica pensylvanica), as it was always one of my favorite shrubs for its waxy leaves and the smell of its beautiful, gray berries. I included it in the bouquets for my winter wedding. I was delighted to discover a few years later that yellow-rumped warblers (a juvenile shown below) are some of the very few birds that can digest the waxy coating of bayberries.
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| Courtesy Cornell's http://www.allaboutbirds.org/ |
That small shrub I planted all those years ago, along with two more have now grown into a large hedge along with some winterberry (Ilex verticulata) and a summersweet shrub (Clethra alnifolia).
This morning I spotted a yellow-rumped warbler in the yard for the first time ever. This afternoon I watched it land in the bayberry and eat a few berries. They came, they came!
This is one of the sweetest rewards of my life.
