September
Stone path with Goldenrod. Our chief landscaper (Margaret) strategically lets some patches of goldenrod and aster grow to fruition in the Legacy Garden for their sheer beauty. Plus, deer don’t eat them.
Red Columbine, donated by Laurinda Cross, May 2019.
Sweet Everlasting, historically a “floor herb” used on the floor to make a room smell nice. Sweet Everlasting smells like maple syrup. I found it for the first time in the summer of 2020 on bee hill where I was grazing the sheep. They didn’t eat it. So I picked it and used it as an air freshener in the composting privy (our bathroom). A year later, it still smells like maple syrup.
September wild flowers vary depending on when we mow, where we mow, and how much energy we have to do that. The reality is that we try to mow around the house to keep fleas and ticks at bay. We try to mow the open areas a couple times a summer to keep the plants diverse. And in some areas, we have seeded with forage for the sheep, to varying degrees of success.
Chinese Lantern, from the gardens of Elena Sette Bruning, Caprendoose Hills Farm, Cambridge, NY, May 2018.
Sedum, another plant that has emerged in a couple locations by virtue of the weeds and poison ivy being removed.
Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea, donated by Kathryn Bruning, from the gardens of Elena Sette Bruning, Caprendoose Hills Farm, Cambridge, NY, May 2019. Flowers begin forming mid summer, opening in a bright white and gradually by early fall evolve into a deep blush.