The Last Rose of Summer

Don't forget to enter my hat contest. You have a very good chance of winning a package of yarn and other knitting goodies worth over $60.00. If no one enters, I don't know what I will do with the prizes. LOL! Deadline is November 3rd.

Fall has definitely arrived though we haven't had a killing frost yet. Some of my flowers are still blooming. This Scentimental rose is still blooming. For some reason when I spotted this single rose yesterday, I felt like singing the "Last Rose of Summer." (Anyone who is a Celtic Woman fan should recognize this song from their last album.) I saw this rose for the first time when we visited the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. I enjoyed the tour of the house and grounds though it set my allergies off. Hubby got very sick after the tour. Since both of us were fine before we went on the house tour, we suspect we reacted badly to the chemicals they are using to preserve items in the house. In some areas of the house, those smells were quite pronounced.

This summer, I found some volunteers coming up near my flower beds. I transplanted them and crossed my fingers. They did quit well, don't you think? The white trumpet flowers are flowering tobacco. The pink is Cleome or spider flower. Both are tall annuals that self seed.

The green fuzzy stuff is a mystery plant we have. Whoever lived in our home before us must have planted it. I've been unable to find out what it is. (Everyone always asks me.) It's a low growing plant that spreads by putting out runners underground. It's very invasive if you leave it to grow unchecked. The plant looks like it would be prickly but it isn't. It's very soft. It blooms in the spring with very small yellow flowers and turns bright colors after a frost. 2/13/09 - I found this advertised in a garden seed catalog as Angelina Sedum. It is supposedly a "new" variety. It's been growing in a flower bed at my house for 20 years! LOL!

I'm working on a new shawl design that should be ready for sale soon. It's a small shoulder shawl that will stay in place and can be converted into a shrug. I'll be announcing its debut both here and on the Simply SimpleKnits group on Ravelry. I may offer a special discount on the new pattern to any member of my Ravelry group.