Better Late Than Never

At this point it's not easy to find beautiful flowers hiding among the fallen leaves.  However my Fragrant Lady's tresses, Spiranthes odorata, did not disappoint.  Granted they were a bit earlier and a little larger last year, but this is 2020.  I am thrilled to just see these lovely little native orchids again.

The individual flowers are small, about one-half  an inch in length.  I love the way they spiral up the stem opening from the bottom to the top.  I wish I could tell you that I got a whiff of the fragrance, but the stems are short this year and I was lucky to get close enough to the ground the take the pictures.  Because we keep a cage around these flowers the wind and falling oak leaves have already mulched these plants.  So far they seem to ignore the cold so I still hold out hope that there will be flowers into November.  Whatever happens it sure made me happy to see my lovely orchids today.  It is only right I should share their beauty!