Tag Archives: Summer

Solstice: Summer Abundant

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Illumination of Earth by Sun at the northern solstice.

This season’s Solstice (Summer in the Northern hemisphere, Winter in the Southern), occurs at 17:16/5:16pm UTC on June 21, 2011. That’s 13:16/1:16pm where I am, in the Eastern Time zone, under Daylight Savings Time (UTC-4).

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
– Solstice, Wikipedia

As the sun stands still, everything else seems to be in motion. Summer is in sway. The succession of insect emergences quickens its pace even as it near its end. Blooms seem to explode, with something new opening each day. Even so, the day after tomorrow will be shorter, the day after shorter still. The arc of gravity’s rainbow is masked by this abundance. So we celebrate it, as we should.

Some shots from past solstices in my gardens.

Garden in Park Slope, 2001

Passiflora, Passion Flower
Passiflora caerulea?

Hydrangea quercifolia, Oak-Leaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia, Oak-Leaf Hydrangea

Campanula
Campanula

Garden #4, Flatbush, 2008

Asclepias incarnata, Swamp Milkweed, 2008
Asclepias incarnata, Swamp Milkweed

Echinacea pallida, Pale Coneflower
Echinacea pallida, Pale Coneflower

Related Posts

Winter 2009: Standing Still, Looking Ahead
Summer 2008: Happy Solstice
Winter 2008: Stand Still / Dona Nobis Pacem
Winter 2007: Solstice: The Sun Stands Still

Links

Solstice, Wikipedia

Brine Garden, Pawling, NY

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A path in the Brine Garden in Pawling in Dutchess County, NY, north of New York City.
Path, Brine Garden

Last Sunday, Blog Widow and I drove up to Pawling, NY and spent the day with a friend of ours. I also got to meet Julia and Duncan Brine. In their landscape design firm, they specialize in native plants, so I was excited to meet them and visit their gardens.

The gardens ramble over six acres. In contrast to the familiar limitations of urban gardening, it may as well have been 600 acres. The property slopes, steeply at times, from the unpaved entrance drive down to Route 22. Water flows through the property. The day of my visit, precipitation seamlessly cycled through mist, drizzle, sprinkles. There was nearly a film of water over the gardens. I’m not exaggerating. My friend’s sneakers became soaked just from walking through the long, wet grass. And it was wet enough for this fellow to crawl over the ground to his burrow of mud at the base of a log.

Crayfish, Brine Garden

With the almost constant rains we’ve had this summer, everything was lush, full, and green. The rampant growth encroached from all sides, overtaking and disguising any intended boundaries of the cleared areas. This contributed to the fluid expression of “path” at play in the Brine Garden. Narrows suggest passage; wider bays encourage a slower pace.

Sunny Border, Brine Garden

Border, Brine Garden

Solidago, Goldenrod, Brine Garden

Grassy Path, Brine Garden

Related Content

Brine Garden, Pawling, NY, Flickr photo set

Links

Brine Garden

Garden Diary: What’s blooming now

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In the backyard and shady path:

  • Astilbe, two unknown varieties: one with dark red flowers, and one with white flowers
  • Dicentra eximia “Aurora”, White bleeding heart
  • Hosta, variety unknown: small, yellow leaves, purple flowers, could be “Gold Drop”? (just starting to bloom)
  • Hydrangea, variety unknown: white, lacecap type flowers
  • Ilex verticillata “Southern Gentleman”, Winterberry, male (in container)
  • Itea “Little Henry”, Sweetspire: white flowers (in container)
  • Kalmia “Peppermint”, Mountain laurel: white flowers with dark red rays (just ending)
  • Lonicera sempervirens, trumpet honeysuckle: dark orange-red flowers (just ending)
  • Tradescantia “Sweet Kate”, Spiderwort: Chartreuse foliage, bright purple flowers

In the sunny border:

  • Alcea, Hollyhocks, unknown strain: tall, pink flowers, white flowers
  • Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly weed: Bright orange flowers
  • Campanula trachelium “Bernice”, Bellflower: Double purple flowers
  • Coreopsis verticillata “Zagreb”, Tickseed: Orange-yellow flowers
  • Digitalis, Foxglove, unknown variety: White flowers (just ending)
  • Hemerocallis (fulva?), Day lily: Bright orange flowers with brick red interior rays
  • Heuchera, Alumroot, unknown variety: white flowers, silver-variegated burgundy foliage
  • Ilex verticillata, Winterberry, female: White flowers, bright red berries still persisting from last year
  • Monarda didyma “Gardenview Scarlet”, Beebalm, Bergamot: Dark red flowers
  • Tradescantia, spiderwort: dark purple flowers

In the front of the house:

  • Centaurea, Bachelor’s buttons: Cornflower blue flowers
  • Dianthus caryophyllus Super Trouper Dark Violet, Carnation (windowboxes)
  • Heuchera, unknown variety: White flowers, burgundy foliage overlaid with white
  • Penstemon “Husker Red”: White flowers
  • Lavandula, Lavender, unknown variety: dark purple flowers
  • Thymus, Thyme: Pale purple flowers
  • Viola, Pansies: Large chrome yellow flowers with purple marks in the centers