Fall's 3 Muses: Aconitum, Anemone, Aster

I always find myself wanting more and more of these three plants every September, and yet for some reason, every year, I forget to add new members to their ranks.

Aconitum columbianum. Plant grown from seed.

This year I actually subtracted from our Anemones by ridding the backyard of the weedy, tall, and white 'Honorine Jobert'. When a plant begins pushing me around, I have to step up and tell it to, "Step off." That Anemone stepped off alright, and stepped right into the yard debris bin. 

Luckily I have this other little beauty to look at right now and it isn't taking over 1/4 of my garden like the other one did. 

Anemone hupenhensis var. Japonica. Purchased plant.

Then there are the Asters. Am I the only one here that thinks there are too many to keep track of? Don't they begin to all look and sound alike? I just cannot tell them apart, besides, I forget far more of them than I remember. 

I think this one I will remember though. It is new to our garden this year and I grew it from seed. I almost threw it away before I left for California because I thought it was maybe a weed. I am so glad now that I let it stay! It is a North American native too.

Aster azureus, Aster oolentangiensi, or Symphyotrichum oolentangiensis. Plant grown from seed.

I thought I would add that my Ikebana a Day project on my other blog is going well. I am still assessing the value it's having upon my day-to-day affairs, and so far, it seems to have been a great idea. 

Soon I will be beginning Ikebana classes and that will improve the quality of my work and the attention I will be able to pay to my materials. So far, the arrangements have been based upon availability and ease and I want that to change. The pieces have felt a lot like sketches and that has been a fun way to warm up for the rest of the year. Overall, I truly want to see if this practice will make me feel better and, in a way, it already seems to be keeping me happier.

For some reason I am really behind on the written copy for the other blog—since I should explain what I am up to in greater depth—but I will get to that soon. I still have 11.5 months left, right? A Year of Ikebana. (I think it has to do with collecting seeds. I have been dramatically slowed down by that annual process!)