August 17, 2011--vases in waiting

I knew those two jars of leaves (from yesterday) wouldn't remain flower-less for long! These little black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia triloba) broke off or got pulled up as I weeded garden this afternoon. And how nice that the jars of basil and scented geranium leaves were waiting for them! I love this small-flowered black-eyed Susan. Each flower is no bigger than a quarter but stems full of them grow 3 to 31/2 feet tall. Unfortunately, they are thin-stemmed and fall over pretty often, but that just makes them easier to cut--because you aren't ruining a perfect plant when you cut them; you're harvesting a damaged one.  The green orbs are un-ripe passion flower fruits, also gleaned from my weeding today.

Prettiest thing blooming in the garden is this hibiscus, which I cut one flower from just to see how it would hold up in a vase. Badly, I predict, but I'll let you know tomorrow.