The Late Bloomers
“Goethe’s final words: “More light.”Ever since we crawled out of that primordial slime, that’s been our unifying cry: “More light.” Sunlight. Torchlight. Candlelight. Neon. Incandescent. Lights that banish the darkness from our caves, to illuminate our roads, the insides of our refrigerators. Big floods for the night games at Soldier’s field. Little tiny flashlight for those books we read under the covers when we’re supposed to be asleep. Light is more than watts and foot-candles. Light is metaphor. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” “Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on!” “The night is dark, and I am far from home.” “Lead Thou me on! Arise, shine, for thy light has come.” Light is knowledge. Light is life. Light is light.”……Chris in the Morning.
Bidens ferulifolia, the apache beggerstick, one of those plants that should be grown more, for it’s drought tolerance, long bloom season-from spring until well into the fall, pest free, trouble free etc. etc.
Those that followed the old blog at illaherarebulbs.blogspot.com know I have railed at length about how much I hate daylight savings time, the darkness is a tough time for those that seek photosynthesis as a source of sustenance, both plant and human alike. The time between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice is a time when you can literally watch the days get shorter by the minute. Especially tough is this weird in between the holiday season with the turkey, tinsel, trees and christmas lights coming up and the deep of winter when I get to go out and go skiing in the backcountry for my outdoor fix that is often the bleakest.
With the longer nights, I have been enjoying a show I used to love as geek teenage kid, filled with existential angst. Northern Exposure, (1990-1995) for some reason the show about a fish out of water, New York doctor who gets indentured to pay off his medical school loans in a remote Alaskan town spoke to me. With it’s quirky cast of characters, Alaskan wilderness and rugged independence tropes and especially the witty, thoughtful and well read, poet/philosopher, Chris Stevens radio jockey monologues that punctuate each episodes theme. It’s a great show, if you haven’t seen it. I need more light!
In between episodes and the now seemingly ever lasting night, I have been busy with some fall projects. Got the roll up sides fitted on the bulb house, along with the newly redone floor it seems like a new greenhouse. I used to have to pick a point in the season where I felt it had cooled enough to close up the sides on the bulb house, only to have it get sunny and warm again and push growth more than I wanted. Now with the twist of a handle I can open up both sides for full venting and keep the temps closer to the outside ambient. I have a xeric garden project underway at the Community College where I teach part time and that has been a fun fall planting, the beds are getting laid out like a mini botanical garden, Mediterranean/European Alps, Mountains and Deserts of North America, Southern Hemisphere, Hardy Africa and a Succulent bed! And if I get home before dark, I get to enjoy the later bloomers of the season. Check out the gallery for a few things that are brightening up the darkest days of winter. All pictures taken this week.
Into the darkness of the winter we go, but the light at the end of the tunnel is that spring thaw and the promise of another season of flowers. Of course at illahe we have something in bloom the year around, even through the darkest days of the season, I’ll continue to share what the season brings. Since it seems like orders are winding down with the onset of the fall season, I’ll probably stop shipping sometime around the end of the month. That will give me lots of time to stock up on inventory for the spring sales season. Thanks to the generous support of a benefactor, the new propagation house is slated for construction this winter, it’s going to be a geothermal ground source heated design called a climate battery. In our effort to be as sustainable, and eco friendly as possible this design will allow for cooler summer temps and warmer winter temps with hopefully little to no inputs in the way of fossil fuels or electricity.
In the mean time, we have a few plants left if you have that open spot in the garden and your soil hasn’t cooled off too much yet. We also have gift cards available for purchase for the plant lover in your life, get your christmas shopping done early and sit back and enjoy a hot toddy!
Cheers,
Mark