Goldenrod
September 22, 2009, 9:43 pm
The curtain came down today at 4:19PM CDT. Summer has bowed out; Autumn begins its reign.
My husband and I agree on almost everything from politics to the horrors of oatmeal. One glaring exception is goldenrod. He hates it; I love it.
“It’s coarse and ugly,” he says.
I suspect another dimension to his distaste of this plant. My husband’s favorite season is summer. Yellowing goldenrod is a harbinger of fall. He wants to shoot the messenger.
Every spring I must wage a campaign to save the sprouting goldenrod. I’ll capitulate and let him tear up a few stalks that are trespassing in the daylilies or pampas grass. He will be kind and leave large, sprouting swathes untouched.
As I look out onto our yard now, the goldenrod is waving like amber surf. And everywhere I drive, the roadsides are shimmering. Alongside the roads, the goldenrod teams up with huge stands of lavender-topped Joe Pye Weed and royal purple asters. Soon the sumac will turn brilliant crimson and join the party.
Summer may be dying, but its last act is sheer brilliance.
5 Comments for this entry
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Greetings and welcome...
The Suitcase Lady Blog is now in its fifteenth year. I intend to keep following the advice from poet Mary Oliver, "Pay attention, be astonished and tell about it". Many thanks for being the people I tell it to.
Posts
September 23rd, 2009 on 10:22 AM
love golden rod, in spite of the fact that I am allergic to the pollen. did you notice it in my yard?
September 25th, 2009 on 5:09 PM
I like goldenrod and its coarse texture contrasts to the delicate Queen Anne’s Lace. My purist friends however decry it as a non-native.
September 25th, 2009 on 7:44 PM
Your purist friends are wrong! Goldenrod is a native plant in North America. Tell them to pick on another plant….say, tulips, hibiscus or poppies for example.
September 25th, 2009 on 10:47 PM
If I remember correctly from your previous blog, you live along the shore…and if you are in the general area that I think you are, I drove past your place the last two mornings. And will again the next two mornings before heading north and west. My mom, from Cleve…is now residing in Man-town. We are staying just east of the tavern that is closest to the lake.
September 26th, 2009 on 7:49 PM
Our house has the 7 foot tall bird with barbells in his wings sculpture in the front yard! Stop over!