Icy Iceland Poppy

As I walked around the garden on this chilly morning, I saw this Salmon colored Iceland Poppy lying flattened on the dirt, sparkling with frost. The stark contrast between the fading flower and the dark ground beneath it prompted me to go inside for my camera.

This variety of Iceland Poppy is called Meadow Pastels. The colors are soft and pretty, this particular color being one of my favorites. They were started from winter sown seed. I had just recently spread a layer of my homemade compost on this bed in preparation for growing my early greens here next year......hence, the squash seed, visible to the left of the flower. :-)

A short distance away from the flower was it's missing petal.

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"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."

~Edwin Way Teale

Good-Bye Garden

Our first killing frost came early this year, on October 8th....and it came hard, with the thermometer dipping to a a chilly 24 degrees! By the time I got out to view the damage the sun had already melted the frost.....so no lovely frost pictures like last year.

This orange Cosmos is hanging its head....succumbing to the inevitable. Oh, how I will miss the cheerful flowers!


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"By the breath of God frost is given..." Job 37:10

White Pincushion Flower

• One of my favorite summer flowers is Scabiosa, also known as Pincushion Flower. I think the common name suits it very well, and is ever so much nicer sounding than Scabiosa, wouldn't you agree? :-) This year I winter sowed seeds for a White variety, which I have enjoyed very much. It has been blooming strong.....even into these cooler fall days. I took all the photos below on the same day. The flowers were in four different stages on the plant, all at the same time.

The tightly packed flower bud, which resembles a pincushion.

The partially unfolded flower. I love the contrast of the white and the greenish center.

The flower in full bloom! Note the slender stamens inside each fold . . . they look rather like pins.

The handsome prickly seedhead. . . . still looking rather like a pincushion, don't you think?


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Pincushion flowers can be either Annual or Perennial, and I suspect this variety (which I obtained from a seed trade ) is an Annual, so I will save some seed to plant next year.