Do you ever have one of those gardening moments when you wonder “Why do I bother?” I get them often when I spend time walking through my meadow, especially at this time of year. Everywhere I look, there are beautiful vistas, stunning combinations, and exquisite tiny details that make the time and energy I invest in the “garden proper” seem rather silly and pointless. They’re not pointless, of course, because I enjoy the process as much as the end results. But still, I can’t help but be humbled by what’s going on out in the meadow–all without endless fussing about soil improvement, plant selection, fertilizing, staking, spraying, or weeding.
Early morning and early evening are my favorite times to visit the meadow, because the light then is so different: so much softer than the bright, flat light in between. The last few mornings, in particular, have been filled with a wispy, uneven mist that looks solid from a distance but is hardly noticeable once one is immersed in it. I got a little carried away with the camera, so I’ve divided some of my favorite shots into two categories: overviews and combinations for today, and detail shots for another day.
The photo at left above shows a few of the hundreds of Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) seedlings that sprouted once I stopped mowing the field about six years ago. It’s amazing how fast they’ve grown and how much they vary in foliage color and growth habit. It’s fun weaving among them with the brush mower to create constantly-changing pathways. The photo at right shows a handsome clump of Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) starting to turn yellow, with purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis) in the foreground.
The recent warm days and cool nights have been bringing out some early fall color. The rich red of this little Eastern flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) seedling makes a great contrast to the bright yellow-and-green goldenrod (Solidago) while harmonizing with the little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) behind. Like the cedars, this dogwood just appeared on its own: no planting required.
Above are two more grasses-and-goldenrods combos. On the left is a rather sprawling, but still pretty, little bluestem behind grassy-leaved or lance-leaved goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia). On the right is an unidentified goldenrod against Indian grass. Is it even possible to create a bad combination with grasses and goldenrods? Hmmm…probably, but it wouldn’t be easy.
At left, another mown path meanders through the meadow, leading to, then through, a patch of head-high goldenrod. Right on the edge of the patch, one of the infamous LWAs (little white asters) has joined the fray. I won’t even hazard a guess as to which species of aster it is, because it hardly matters: It’s just nice.
And one more grass, just because I like it: part of a rather sizable patch of purpletop (Tridens flavus), also known as greasegrass. It doesn’t look like much in summer, except for often having some reddish tints on its light green foliage. The leaf blades are also wider than many of the common meadow grasses. In fall, they turn yellowish brown. The deep purple, early-fall flowers are interesting, but the clusters are so open and so dark that it’s easy to miss them. As a single clump, this grass is nondescript, to put it nicely. But in a larger patch, as it has planted itself here, the effect is quite pretty–though still difficult to photograph!
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