James, over at Lost in the Landscape posted recently about the skeletal remains of leaves. His photos were sublime…mine, not so much. I have never been able to resist bringing all sorts of bits and pieces home from my walks. Bins, baskets and boxes in my workroom are filled with things like lichens, mosses, cones, pods and the like. I think I must be descended, not from apes, but from rats and squirrels. But I digress. The leaves here are from Epimedium ‘Lilafree’ after having been left on the ground through the winter. The Physalis, or Japanese lanterns, are appealing enough when they are papery and brilliant orange, but after weathering all that winter can throw at them, they are reduced to a delicate tracery of veins enclosing bright red berries at their hearts. The fragility of this booty precludes hoarding it, which somehow makes it all the more precious.
Well written, Ricki. I love seeing these. They remind me of the netting on the peat pots left to melt back into the earth. Only way better. Little works of art, they are.
Grace~Yes, and we might have missed them entirely if they hadn’t appeared at a time when things are sparse, and we must look closely.
Ricki, this is a stunning photo!
I have planted quite a few of these guys bareroot but they’ve never made it. Perhaps I didn’t baby them enough (or at all!), or maybe I need to try a plant and give up the bareroot hassle.
Anyway, gorgeous.
The thin mesh of these ghosts is beautiful. I, too, love finding these delicate reminders of last season.
Wendy~They tend to be thugs around here, so I have them out along the fence line where things kind of struggle.
Jane~I almost like it better when there is less abundance and things that are beautiful stand out.
Hi Ricki. Such a beautiful collection you gathered there. Too bad you can’t somehow capture and preserve them forever, they’re such amazing natural art.
Megan~I hang on as long as i can, but when they go, i will still have the picture…and there will be more next year.