August luck, and musings on Mother Nature

If I do say so myself, I am a humble gardener. When things go right in my garden, I generally don't think it's my doing. What I usually think is that I got lucky. Lucky gardening and the beneficence of Mother Nature in my garden have been on my mind this week. Let me explain.

Last year I lost my huge and very favorite Agastache 'Acapulco Orange' to winter. Multiple web searches turned up no stock anywhere to replace it. Then a month or so ago, I spied a tiny seedling in the garden that looked like young Agastache foliage. I hardly dared to hope, but it now seems irrefutably to be growing into exactly that plant. I had assumed it was a sterile hybrid, but I got lucky.

I stopped by a Fred Meyer in Vancouver last week and found this four-foot Musa basjoo plant for the lofty sum of $4.99. Lucky, right?

I bought this Abutilon megapotamicum at Cracked Pots last year and I was sure I lost it over winter. The little sticks of its remaining branches were dry and sad looking.

It's lucky I didn't give up on it earlier, because now, not only is it most definitely alive, it is finally beginning to flower.

Ceanothus 'Victoria' blooms profusely in May. Then in August, when the last thing on my mind is its flowers, comes this: a single, sweet reminder of one of my all-time favorite spring blossoms. Thank you, Mother Nature!

This piece of August luck came in the form of a mystery: I have almost no idea what this is, nor do I know from whence it came, but I love its big, dusty gray leaves sprouting from the point where a patch of Lilium columbianum had lately bloomed. I'll hazard a guess this is a volunteer Verbascum of some kind. Time will tell the answer and meanwhile I'll enjoy the surprise.

Lewisia columbiana var. walloensis has been a non-stop summer bloomer in a gravelly part of the Northwest Territory. It's winding down now, but not without leaving a little present.

I recently discovered a little seedling of the Lewisia going for broke just in front of the Eriogonum compositum. It's just delightful when the plants you really love are the ones that really love your garden.

So is it luck, or is Mother Nature working extra hard on my behalf this month?
I'll take it, whichever it is!

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