The Collector

I buy plants I want to photograph. I don't plan, I don't design. I collect. I know I should buy three plants, but I buy one. My garden is more like a menagerie than a landscape. I do try to plant my new acquisitions where they'll do well—right plant, right spot, etc. And just last season I realized that my new, bright yellow Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), looked awful in the bed with the various blues and purples that were blooming nearby, so I moved it. I do really want my garden to look nice, but I get caught up in the details of individual plants.

For instance, last year I saw some photos of a Pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) on Flickr and went wild. I mean, the thing had HAIR! Well, I had to have one. And photograph it over and over again. 

I know, a little like mug shots.  But, once again, IT'S GOT HAIR!  What's not to like?  

But I confess I did go back to the nursery and buy a few more.  And this year I was rewarded with this beauty.

This sweetheart even has a touch of the creature about her.  And if the wind is low and I get very close, I think I can hear her murmur, "feed me!"