There's still things going on in Fern Valley.....natural things not construction related things

Past the shed, a Sabatia has colonized the Northern Bog, I think there was Sabatia here last year.Mimulus ringens is flowering on both sides of the trail and in the island bed adjacent to the bog.

Clethra alnifolia, is flowering all through Fern Valley; it's a butterfly magnet. Clethra isn't the most controlled or architectural plant, but I bet you've got a friend who's a little bit wild and we're not going to dump them. A long time ago Joan told me a funny story about a delicate and refined visitor who observed, somewhat haughtily, that "You let your Clethra run." There really isn't any choice. It's the nature of the beast. And Itea is the same way. As much as I love these plants I reflect before I put them into designs.

I did weekend watering yesterday, Sunday, and I was struck by how many plants belonged to Fern Valley. Then I stopped to think that, for the last 2+ years, FV has been non-stop rescuing plants that lived in the path of construction: the new Trail System or the Irrigation.....at the same time unprecedented numbers of seed collections were going on. It all adds up. The construction seems to be just about done save a bit of fine tuning so those plants can go back into the ground. But likely not till the fall. I think by this point I might have thrown my hands up but I guess that's really not an option. Anyway, the hardest  part seems to be over.

In the picture below, the fringe along the road is all Elephantopus and it has all resprouted since the trench was filled about a week ago. Wow. I love this plant though with some reservations. It is frightening how fast it came back on this site. Still, it has wonderfully textured foliage in basal rosettes, nice purple/blue flowers, and never seems to be fazed by drought. Flora of North America lists 4 species, one of which is a major component of the dry flora around the Florida Garden.