08 Fall - Toad Lily

The night I took this photograph, raccoons walked over this toad lily, breaking off its flowers the size of quarters.

This photograph is one of the few I have of it in bloom. There are four other plants nearby, but only this one has bloomed to date.

08 Fall - Chimney Bell Flower

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I pulled out this chimney bell flower (campanula pyramidalis),
which had finally faded after being in bloom for several months.

Phil and I planted it in spring, 2007. Based on the information we found on the internet on this slow-growing, short-lived perennial, we certainly expected a spectacular show when it started going into bloom mid-summer, but I have to say we were stunned by its beauty.

I put these photographs together to show you the purple flowers and to give you some perspective on the plant, which was supposed to reach six or so feet tall, but fell down from its own weight and doubled in size as it outgrew its garden bed, scaled a tree dahlia and climbed up a fence into a cactus.