After enjoying a well-deserved Labor Day holiday, it’s back to school, back to work, back to volunteering (even though we never really take a break from volunteering–and why would we want to?).  And back to gardening, of course.

And so it is on a glorious Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, Brandywine Wildflower Journal is in the car heading to the Brandywine Conservancy  and Brandywine River Museum for what will no doubt be another great day volunteering in the gardens  in Chadds Ford. The sun is shining brightly, there are still wildflowers in bloom on the side of the road, and we hear on the radio that it’s National Enthusiasm Week. We’re not sure in what country (the event might actually be in the U.K.), but we smile because we know that every week is enthusiasm week in our gardens.

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We walk around in awe. We especially admire the Sweetbay Magnolia, or Magnolia virginiana, which right now is like Christmas in September. Its clusters of red seeds look like holly berries cradled in its big green leaves. We’re already looking forward to the intoxicating perfume of its flowers next year.

We walk around some more. (Trust us, we’ll do a little bit of work before lunch this day.) And the people we see are smiling. They’re conversing. They’re going somewhere. Yes, there’s enthusiasm in the air.

 

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Brandywine Bloom Cam:  9/3/2013

We call it Aster novae-angliae. You might call it Symphyotrichum novae-angliae. Just don’t call it… late for dinner. Seriously, bees and butterflies love this floriferous (look it up–and look around!) wonder. New England Aster is yet another reason why we’re so, well, enthusiastic.

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