late bloomers

Do you feel like you are being stared at when you look at this image? I do.

I had no idea dahlias were so hardy––continuing to bloom into late October. These surely must mark be the end of our season. Here a few interesting facts about dahlias:

Dahlias are native to Mexico and Central America. Dahlia relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 49 species of dahlia, with flowers in almost every hue (except blue), with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Dahlias were known only to the Aztecs and other southern North American peoples until the Spanish conquest, after which the plants were brought to Europe.

last dahlias of the Twin Cities season

even the lilacs go in on the action

Even the lilacs joined the party this fall. It was one of the prettiest leaf displays I can ever remember.
And now it’s raining. Badly needed, but sadly putting and end to the leafy festivities. What a show it was!

lilac leaves in autumn (Syringa vulgaris)

still hanging on

The roadsides are still sporting late season sunflowers; they are a little banged up but they are still here. We have not had a frost yet. And a quick peak at the weather forecast says there is no threat of frost for the next two weeks. If that holds, that would put us a full month later than normal for first frost. Sunflowers blooming on Thanksgiving in the North? Hmm.

Jerusalem artichoke sunflowers in very late October (Helianthus tuberosus)

Bines make beer. Vines make wine.

Our son Joseph planted hops this summer. The underground hop root system is perennial, but the annual bines are are not. These are not Joe’s bines. He got a small harvest this first year: enough to make 1 beer–which he did. I am not joking.

These bines I found covering a STOP sign in Minneapolis this morning. The hops are too old to make beer with (according to son Joseph), so they are currently in my dehydrator as an experiment. By the way, you can thank Joseph Hoffman for the title factoid: “BINES MAKE BEER. VINES MAKE WINE.” Hopes are a bine, of course.

hops bine seed cone strobiles ( Humulus lupulus)

Take a guess?

Anyone know what these are? We have an exciting new restaurant opening in Minneapolis next month, and was asked to make composition using this fruit which will be the name of the new restaurant. I won’t say anything more until I get a few guesses. Good luck! :-)

jujubes (Ziziphus jujuba)

Jujube: Also known as Chinese jujube, red date or Chinese date is a species in the genus Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Indian jujube, Z. mauritiana. The jujube tolerates a diverse range of climates, from temperate to tropical. Its origin is thought to be in eastern Asia, but it has been widely dispersed through cultivation, and is today cultivated in gardens as a shrub as well as in agriculture as a food crop. Its fruit is eaten freshly harvested as well as dried and candied.