It's hot. It's dry. It's August. It's particularly hot and dry THIS August. But good news! It's time for one of the stars of the late summer garden---cleomes.
I have some I grew from seed. I have some I bought as bedding plants. The seed ones have withstood this horrible summer better than the others.
I LOVE cleome's spidery exuberance.

Acrylic and Pentel pocket brush pen on Bee Paper's Bogus Recycled Rough Sketch paper.
My mother always loved these and always had them in our backyard. She called the Spider plants. I have her seeds.
Posted by: Roxie | September 04, 2010 at 10:50 PM
Laura’s Cleomes
Sandy Roberts 8-10
The Cleome raised her gift on fragile arms
For me to hold in my hands and bring it to my cheek
For a pink embrace
She fell in love with her spidery stems
And forgot she ever longed to be a rose
Posted by: Sandy Roberts | September 04, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Thanks, Sandy, for your beautiful poem!
Posted by: Laura | August 24, 2010 at 01:24 PM
Thanks so much, everyone! Cathy, I'm sure they'd be able to grow where you are! They are not in the least bit finicky! Don't you love the way some subjects just call for that kind of wickedly fun linework?
Posted by: Laura | August 24, 2010 at 01:22 PM
The Cleome raised her gift on fragile arms
For me to hold in my hands and bring to my cheek
For a pink embrace
She fell in love with her spidery stems
And forgot she ever longed to be a rose
Posted by: Sandy Roberts | August 20, 2010 at 05:31 PM
Oh, this is what they are called - cleomes!!! We saw them the other day while walking here in Chicago and couldn't believe our eyes. We have never seen these before, they looked unreal, like some kind of outer-space mutant ninja flowers. Now thanks to you we know what they are called!
Really neat drawing of really cool flowers!
Posted by: Alex Zonis | August 20, 2010 at 12:34 PM