My clematis vine has started to bloom!  I have not seen this plant in bloom for 4 years -since I’ve been away from Vermont traveling and workamping during the high summer months.  I have no recollection of where I purchased this plant or even what variety it is.  My attempt to google burgundy/maroon clematis yielded far too many choices for me to make an educated guess.  All I know is that it continues to thrive year after year with little fuss on my part.  I attribute this to our moderate Vermont summers.

This morning the dew was incredibly heavy.  As I was sipping my morning coffee on the porch, I saw the dewdrops reflecting off the newly emerging clematis flower and knew this would be my photo of the day.  🙂

I never had much luck growing clematis when we lived in the hot, humid conditions of southeastern Pennsylvania.  I painstakingly followed all the recommended rules for growing clematis – including the tried and true “cool shade on the roots and full sun on the foliage” advice.  Every attempt ended in failure.  I finally settled on Sweet Autumn Clematis – the only variety I was able to keep alive in PA.  We all know how easy and invasive that plant can be!  It was not my green thumb that contributed to that successful endeavor!

Perhaps it’s time to shop for a new clematis variety.  My burgundy mystery plant could use some company!  Yeah – maybe I’ll do that! 🙂

Since it’s the 4th of July, I tried to get a picture that “somewhat” depicted the spirit of the day – blue and white verbena, deep pink impatiens (closest I have to red!) and coleus with a hint of red in the foliage.

I’ve always considered holidays a time to spend with family.  I remember when I was young, the Dougherty branch of our family often had reunions and picnics on long summer holidays.  The usual comfort food was in great abundance – macaroni salad, baked beans, potato salad, hotdogs, hamburgers, iced tea, lemonade and an endless variety of pies and cakes.  As an introvert, I usually faded into the background at these affairs but that never meant that I did not enjoy them.  To the contrary, I relished sitting quietly and listening attentively to the stories my elderly relatives recounted about growing up in Chester County, Pennsylvania – as survivors of two world wars and the Great Depression.   I did not converse much then – and quite frankly – still tend to be on the quiet side.   But, make no mistake,  we introverts still like being in the company of others!

Our large family gatherings are a thing of the past.  The generation that prompted those reunions long gone.  Funny how times change.   Today, my own immediate family is celebrating the holiday elsewhere.  It feels lonely without their presence but we are heading to a good friend’s house for a late afternoon visit – and that will be just fine 🙂

This summer, I’m growing nasturtium in a large clay pot that sits on my porch.  I love the curvy, variegated leaves of this species and the yellow, orange and red flowers.  The vivid warm colors stand out against the deep green foliage perfectly!  So interesting that this plant is also edible – leaves and flowers both.  High in vitamin C as well as manganese, iron, and  beta carotene,  it has been used in traditional medicine for years.  So, the next time you make a salad, throw a few nasturtium petals on top – pretty and nutritional!