When Meeko and I go on our neighbourhood walks, I spend a lot of time looking at other people's gardens. I often notice tidy clumps of black-eyed susans maybe two or three feet in height.
When I was a little girl, I loved black-eyed susans. Black-eyed susans, cow vetch, asters, wild daisies and queen anne's lace would often end up in bouquets gathered on walks through the little ravine not far from my childhood house.
I think you would all admit that black-eyed susans are a very happy looking flower. It's really quite hard to be mad at them. But I am.
You see there's a gang of black-eyed susans that have decided to take over one end of my garden. They are actually the flowerbeds that belong to Emma and Chloé. Neither of them really took care of their garden plots this year and I refused to do it for them. The black-eyed susans figured that no one was looking and moved in, but not in a polite and delicate way. These black-eyed susans have filled out every inch of the beds and have grown to a crazy height. They are taller than me!
I asked a local model if he would mind posing in front of them to give you a sense of scale.
Somewhere in behind that adorable model (thank you Meeko) and those towering yellow hooligans are pink phlox, obedient plant and a few other plants I haven't seen in so long I've forgotten what they are.
It's clear that these black-eyed susans have world domination in mind and I'm going to have to take them out but, you know what? I'm going to wait until they've finished blooming. I don't admire their thug-like behaviour but I've got to admit that they're pretty in a vase.
And they even came in handy as a photo prop alongside an original
watercolor I just listed on Etsy.
So I guess if they are using part of my garden rent-free, I'll take advantage of having them. Bouquet of black-eyed susans, anyone?
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A bit of research has determined that the flowers that have taken over my garden are probably brown-eyed susans rather than black-eyed susans although they are closely related. Brown-eyed susans tend to have smaller flowers not to mention rude behaviour. ;)
They are quite pretty, but with a dark centre! Fancy them doing that....I hope the bees like them? Meeko is the best model, it looks like he's got a little beard? Funny! In the countryside we have a major thug, Himalayan Balsam, there are balsam bashes to try and limit it, but each year there is more of it, taking over the woods....eeeek :)
ReplyDeleteThe bees do love them, Julie, so that's another good reason to leave them there until they are finished blooming. And Meeko does have a beard although it is due for a trim as you can see! :)
DeleteC'est un véritable bonheur de visiter votre blog aujourd'hui. J'ai bien aimé votre post et vos dernières oeuvres.
ReplyDeleteMerci! Vous êtes vraiment gentille!
DeleteWow! Those are a tall lot, aren't they. I must admit they look lovely in a vase or on roadsides as I believe they are a native plant to Ontario. Otherwise, feel no guilt whatsoever in giving them a trim and a pull when they are through. :)
ReplyDeleteThey sure are! I still like seeing them on roadsides--more so than in my garden. :)
DeleteIn the words of Stephanie Tanner, "How rude!" Still, I love the wild and free nature of them and they sure look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThey do have a happy, carefree look to them.
DeleteThese photos are beautiful! :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://tinajoathome.com/
Thanks, Tina!
DeleteHaha, the rascals! They are lovely though, and so is dear Meeko, and so is your watercolor!xo
ReplyDeleteYup. Rascals indeed! Thanks, Annamaria!
DeleteDear Kathleen - how lovely - sometimes it is hard to rid yourself of something that seems to flourish - especially as summer winds down and less flowers are blooming. Meeko makes a great model too. Hope you are enjoying these " lazy crazy days of summer"!
ReplyDeleteYou are right. I'm going to hold on to this color even if it's from an uninvited guest! :)
DeleteWhat gorgeous flowers- but I would totally be annoyed with the neighbors for not taking care of their bed. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are definitely bright and cheerful flowers. Funny, it took me a minute to understand your comment. Emma and Chloé are my daughters not neighbors. But, you know what? It IS annoying that they didn't look after their gardens this year. ;)
DeleteThey are happy flowers indeed, but sounds rather rude !!!! Well, if they've grown that big without any help, it's not all lost. I understand that they were not wanted & they should have kept their distance, but I guess seeds don't understand that elaborate language !
ReplyDeleteYou laughed outloud when reading "local model", eheheh, what a cute one !
Big hugs to you & your local model ;-)
oxox
Chloé just looked at her part of the garden tonight and said "Whoa". They definitely took over. They are there for now... :) xx
DeleteLovely flowers and lovely photos! Meeko is adorable. I love black-eyed susans --- we used to have a small house not too far from the beach, and my husband (who has the green thumb in our family) had something similar called "beach daisies". Lovely little sparrow feather watercolor.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joyce Alice, for your kind comments about my garden, painting and Meeko.
Deletei have areas of my garden where i let nature have its way and it always amazes me
ReplyDeleteI think it's right to let nature have its way at times. It usually knows better than us. :)
DeleteHow cute, the doggy!
ReplyDeleteAnother Meeko fan. He adores his fan club. :)
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