Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate

Sounds like the title to an old-fashioned romance novel, doesn't it?

My husband and I were driving on a hilly river road in our small town in late August when I spied a beautiful flower garden in a sunny backyard and exclaimed quite eloquently, "Holy crap! What's that?!"  There, in a long bed lined neatly with field stone, grew a beautiful plant with long pink blooms that towered over the rest of the garden at roughly 10 ft tall!  I'd never seen it before and I just had to know what it was.

We drove home and I began my GPS'ing (Google plant sleuthing).  I've become quite a whiz at this, feverishly typing descriptive phrases to identify my latest mystery plant.

Finally, after searching in spurts for several days, I found what I was looking for.  Polygonum orientale, or it's much more romantic common name, 'Kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate'.

     I went back to the garden on another occasion to take this photo.

This link provides some good info on this charming annual.  I wonder if the owners would notice me creeping up into their yard to gather some seeds...

My, Oh My

Well, so much for my hopes to post more consistently this year than the last.  Oops.  I blame the intense heat ...or something.  I am working on a post that I'll be sharing within the next month or so.  Until then, here are a few photos taken in the yard this year.

 Despite the drought that initially plagued our area in May and June, July brought sufficient rain that perked everything up nicely.  My black-eyed-susans and butterfly weed are having their best year ever.

The birds have not been as plentiful as previous years, perhaps due to the unusually hot and dry weather, but the usual suspects can be found visiting the bird garden daily.  The orioles are long gone.  The hummingbirds fill the void with their amusing antics as they chirp and fight over the coveted nectar feeder.

     Look deep into my eyes.  You will surrender all of your carrots.