This week we’ve had cool nights, a little rain, and no frost yet but the garden is just beginning to have a tattered Fall fading Miss Havesham Raggedy Annie sort of look to it. I’ve always had a soft spot for those characters and I am as facinated with the coming apart at the seams Fall as I am with the fresh flush of Spring baby growth. I spent days watching this fellow (left) - a monarch who has obviously been around the block and has lived as fully as flutterbyly possible. Right near where it was anchored, a butterfly’s worth of wings were on the ground looking for all the world like there had been a bar brawl. Gail watched our guy gimp off flying out of reach yesterday. (Amazing that it could still get loft with all those holes!)

The excuse of rain gave volunteers their first days off in a while and kept us in the greenhouse. I finally potted up some things that have been making me cringe all summer. The Container Bed was short shrifted this year because of other garden projects. We didn’t buy any new special specimens and potting-up the ones we already have was not a priority (can there be more than one priority?) and was so far down the list of things to do that it just didn’t happen. Now though, I’m putting potting-up at the top of the list (priority number 2 or 3 at least)! This Agave americana ‘Mediopicta Alba’ was heaving itself out of its pot (like this bromeliad had) and you can see why - the roots had nowhere to go but up and the babies were hurling themselves up and out. Mother and children should be happier and healthier now.

I love and covet things like Agaves but have a slightly conflicted feeling about keeping them even in a greenhouse. Are potted plants like caged animals? Do they long to run free? When I see pictures of Agaves in their preferred environment I think “yeah - that’s a happy plant!” But then I want it and the cycle of guilt and plant torture continues… I know there are some gardeners out there (who are you? - speak up!) who won’t keep plants indoors. As conflicted as I am sometimes, the pleasure I take in green growing around me (especially in the winter) outweighs the guilt and I know I will always bring the garden in.

And speaking of gardening in - Gail and I are teaching a terrarium class tomorrow and that, I think, is one of the best kinds of indoor gardens. It’s self-contained, pretty self-sufficient and the plants seem to not think it’s torture - actually any diminutive plant that likes a warm, moist environment thrives on jarred benign neglect - now that’s my kind of garden!

I plan to post about jar garden how-tos next week (the class is full) but first stay tuned on Monday for Blog Action Day (thousands of bloggers around the world -plus me- will be writing about the environment) and Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.

I can’t imagine being the kind of person who already knows it all. I spend almost every moment trying to catch up - if I’m not finding something new to know, I’m quizzing myself on what I thought I knew and being schooled again on what I’ve already forgotten. I opened my eyes in the Rock Garden this morning and saw Toad lilies (Tricyrtis hirta) that I don’t ever remember noticing there before. As a matter of fact, I read a post about them recently (can’t remember where … whoever wrote it, please send a comment and I’ll plant a link! -click here and here) and I thought (or maybe even said in a comment?) “I wonder why we don’t we have those? - Gotta put them on the list…” A new (old?) path has opened up in my brain!

And how could I forget Thistle (Onopordum acanthium) - an outstanding biennial - in the Idea Beds? (oops! Gail took one look and said “but it’s not a thistle! - It’s an artichoke.” duh. !) It took a monarch to remind me.

Speaking of biennials (plants which grow leafy the first season then bloom, set seed and die in their second season), I’ve learned a good trick for more-blooms-no-waiting. We appropriated some foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) seedlings to flower in the North Garden and Cutting Garden next year: In July we sowed seeds from the Dry Shade Bed foxglove and dug seedlings from around other mother plants by the Summer House. We grew the babies on in the greenhouse and planted most of them out in the Cutting Garden yesterday. Gail chose Cutting Garden beds with good winter drainage and we’ll move any survivors from there into new locations next spring. We’ll also plant some in the North Garden in a few weeks when we remove and divide some of the Phlox. With any luck we’ll have flowers and new biennial banks to draw from next year.

Diane, one of the Florabundas, is learning something new today too. DJ Garrity, Mt. Rushmore artist in residence, is teaching Diane and a few others how to carve stone. Over the next couple of days Diane will release the person she sees inside her block of marble (Move over Rodin!).

And what did you learn today? (By any chance, have you learned what this vining weed is??)

At the end of August I swivelled around the garden trying madly to take pictures of all the dozens of hummingbirds. Two weeks later it’s the monarchs distracting me from my work. They’re like a pure fall color concentrate or tiny drunk polka-dot fairies - completely captivating either way. (speaking of fairies - something tells me they’re going to be busy this weekend…)

So in honor of Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day (a day early to the party) here’s what’s blooming with a particular focus (and soft focus) on what the monarchs like.

When I could drag myself away from the butterflies, I found Autumn crocus (Colchicum) at the Bosquet entrance,

Begonia grandis in the Rock Garden,

Seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides) near the wedding tent,

and on the Cutting Garden fence, Clematis ‘Roguchi’ is still blooming - I think it should get the “employee of the year” award for being super productive (it will take a vacation finally come winter), efficient (the plant blooms away without growing out of bounds), and for having a terrific attention to detail (just look at that beautiful blue!).

(hover over pictures for names/titles and click on for larger images)