Flowers from the Biltmore House

I started this post back in July, the month very little was accomplished.  Our out-of-town company wanted to visit the Biltmore House, built by George W. Vanderbilt back in 1895 as a summer house.   More info on the Biltmore can be found here http://www.biltmore.com/.  The house itself was interesting and worth the visit, though the lighting was low and I didn't take many inside photos.

My favorite room was the winter garden, illuminated by a glass roof.  There's a fountain in the center, and tree ferns and other tropical plants.  I wouldn't mind having a winter garden in the house above Heck Creek.
  

It was decorated for the summer with paper lanterns. 

There were lovely floral arrangements throughout the house.  One of the most impressive was in the equally impressive banquet hall.

Look at that moss ball!

The Biltmore Estate includes several greenhouses filled with orchids, bromeliads, ferns, begonias and many other tropicals.  I was in my element there and my camera was kept quite busy snapping photos of the orchids. 

 

 And a pitcher plant.

And here are the kids at the entrance to the house.
  

Shedding

There he was, Mr. Eastern Fence Lizard, Sceloporus undulatus, on the wall outside the downstairs windows, changing his skin.

Daylilies

The beginning of August marks the end of the daylily bloom.  Well, there are still a few stragglers but the big show is over.

The daylily is one of my favorite flowers.  (I don't think I'm alone in this.)   When we left Missouri, the daylilies came with us.  My collection is rather small and mostly yellow but I love them anyway. 


This one is such a happy color and the flowers are huge--they can be 5 or 6  inches across.

This one is a beautiful lemony yellow.

This one has such fun ruffled petals.

And this one has a bit of a blush.

I even like the looks of this one--the original species from which all others are derived--Hemerocallis fulva. 

I may just have to add to the daylilies at Heck Creek next spring.  With a daylily farm (http://www.blueridgedaylilies.com/) almost next door, I have no excuse not to.  Maybe a pink one.

How Many Mourning Doves Can Fit at the Bird Feeder?

One?

 

Three?

 

Six is the maximum observed.

Edited on 8/6/17 to add:  I saw eight trying to get to the seed this evening, but the camera wasn't handy.

BRP and Mt. Mitchell

With out-of-town guests here the first of the month, we had to take a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We headed north through Craggy Gardens to Mount Mitchell.

No one can take a ride on the BRP without noticing the grand skyscapes above the mountain tops.  I'm always photographing the clouds even though I know I'm doomed to disappointment--no mere photo can ever capture the magnificence.

I photographed a few wild flowers, though I tried to keep the picture-taking to a minimum with our guests along.  When Ralph and I go alone, he has to endure frequent requests to pull over just so I can look at flowers.  But here are a few trail side blooms. I enjoy the small and delicate flowers as well as the showy blossoms.


Saxifrage and tiny bluets growing on seepy rocks near the top of Mt. Mitchell.

Saxifraga michauxii and Houstonia caerulea

Saxifraga michauxii

A fringed orchid.

Platanthera psycodes

 Wood sorrel. Look at the colors in this small flower.

Oxalis montana

Not a flower, but interesting nonetheless, upright standing fir cones.

Abies fraseri

And the kids at the top.

Sheep Block

In my role as Mom, the pattern tester, I just finished piecing this 18-inch block for Robyn.  

First step--selecting fabrics.  Each piece is shape and color coded ...

Sections pieced ...

Sewing the sections together ...

Although not for beginning paper-piecers, Robyn's patterns include instructions that are clear and detailed.  If you follow the instructions carefully, then at the end it all comes together and...

You have sheep!

 

Yellow

Yellow coneflower ...

Yellow yarrow ...

Yellow tickseed ...

Beard Tongue

We had a lot of this plant in our yard in Missouri and it grew well.  We brought one small plant with us from Missouri and it seems well-adapted to the North Carolina clay.

Penstemon digitalis "Husker Red"

The stems and new leaves are reddish in color.

Honey bees and other bees are frequent visitors. (Look how fast the wings are buzzing.)

And here is why the plant's common name is beard tongue.  Take a look at the flower's stigma and style.