I have a Penstemon in bloom in September. Hmmm…..
Out of the ground and into the sky
I know not why
The daylight and moonlight are of equal match
A wandering passerby’s eye I catch
Why bloom in the fall I ask?
Why not?
Retorts the flower.
Blame the moon and its superpowers!
Stranger things have happened I suppose. But around this time of year, “spooky season” certain unusual circumstances seem to take on an even stranger aura. Humidity tries to subside lending itself to clearer night skies. That September moon peeked its way out of August’s cloud cover with ease. It was a hard act to follow that tremendous August super blue moon. Yet, September rallied with a rainbow (a double even) and full moon right on cue, just shortly after sunset. Yet as we witness summer relinquish itself to Autumn’s owls and spiders, there is no doubt that change is in the air.
Such is the case in my mind this morning. It was darker than usual this morning, and yet my alarm has been going off at the same time every day for the past month. I truly had a creepy feeling of “what if the sun didn’t rise this morning?” Within minutes that thought was quickly erased as the pale lavender sky began its slow emergence. A dark world no more.
Meanwhile, despite the bright moons, an unusually dry summer has left some spots in the garden looking a little sparse. The ground is harder than a hockey rink, and oak saplings are springing out of the grass like popcorn because the grass has been without a cut in so long. I have noticed white pines are shedding needles and black walnuts are being cached by little rodents with fluffy tails.
Looking back, we have had snow in October, close to 70 degrees in December, earthquakes, super blue moons and eclipses. Wildfire smoke and banner years of cicadas. So really nothing can seem too much out of the ordinary anymore. Until today. I have spring blooming plants (and a shrub) shooting out blooms like it’s May. Am I supposed to enjoy this repeat performance, or be slightly alarmed?
If you look at the calendar, we could point a finger of blame at the length of day. We have just hit the autumnal equinox on the 22nd of September. It is that rare time of year where we have just about the same amount of daylight as we do darkness. The only other time of year that this happens is in March, for the Spring equinox…when plants are beginning to be tapped on the shoulder to say it about that time to arise from your slumber.
One Google contributing article I read said that some Spring blooming plants that choose to hit the bloom button again in the Fall are often times younger plants and are still figuring out their hormone imbalances. Interesting theory. We all go through hormone imbalances I suppose. So are my blooming at the wrong time plants hitting a stage of adolescence? Perhaps.
Whenever there is odd behavior in my house…I always blame the moon. I can’t ever blame the sun. Though it does seem to be playing tricks on my plants.