I find St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) and Virgin’s Bower (Clematis Virginiana) to be quite fitting botanical bookends for the season of summer- Solstice to Equinox- if only for the similarity of their poufy little central crowns! (And they’re lovely content for borders- which are of course my prime concern, being a medievalist. I do so love the commentary a border can provide.) Around where I live at least, St. J’s is “spreading sunshine all over the place” on the 21st of June and Virgin’s bower spreads a lacey, if rather parasitic presence over all she can cling to just as the summer really starts to show signs of being ready to leave the party… (earlier evenings, lots of cricket chorus…and our human choirs starting up again….)

I’m creating a series of different borders which are designed for a particular volume I’m working on but I will also be using them here in my blog with whatever I’m writing about. It’s hard to keep artwork apace with the moment while one conducts a daily life but as this is a blog about the events of the seasons and the year, that’s the goal. So- as we head into fall- a toast to the last night of summer- from the peak of the year’s blooming to the onset of the veil of autumn.