Just about six months ago! Â It was the very end of summer and the beginning of fall when these shots were taken. Â Usually at this time of the year, late summer and. Early fall is not given hardly a thought. Â Spring is highly anticipated and winter is rationalized, having finally gotten used to it. Â But, just to mix things up a bit, here is a snapshot of the very end of summer 2011.
Helianthus, in our back alley.  This is the native one and it grows really tall and produces a late summer show of bright yellow flowers. Really  fun to find them in the wild.
Lobelia cardinalis. Â This is our garden specimen that did nothing but bloom all summer, and throw seeds out. Â Now, in mid February, there is a nice healthy Rosette of green leaves soaking up the winter sun, signalling that the plant is still alive and ready for the upcoming season.
Goldenrod, a volunteer, graces our back alley on Morris Park Road. We get alot of native wildflowers in our yard just by weeding out the non native plants and letting things grow, and repeating  the process. Now our yard is more and more like what grew there many years in the past, sort of an heirloom wildflower yard.
This is a forest discovery, a parasitic native plant that grows off the roots of Beech trees. Â Always fun to try to find them below Beech trees in the fall. They are a bit camouflaged.
Some more blooms to look forward to in six months. At this time of the year, it is hard to believe these flowers exist. Â They are just living roots, waiting for a full growing season. The Swamp Mallow, a native flower that likes sun and moist soils, loves growing at the end of our drainpipe. Â Available for sale at your local native plant nursery, eastern North America.
