Tomorrow is my birthday. I am always grateful for that nice honeybee that introduced my father to my mother. Without her help, my parents would never have gotten together. Along with my brothers and sisters, I was conceived here in the Garden and 
'Ecuador'have enjoyed my entire life here. So far, it’s been great. The only problem I have are those pesky gardeners.
To celebrate, I decided to hit a high spot in the Garden – Baker Overlook. At least it seems pretty high to me, sitting way up here. This is a wonderfully quiet spot. Two chairs invite human visitors to sit on the deck, surrounded by flowering plants, almost invisible to the passersby in the garden below.
The overlook is especially nice at this time of year. Many fall flowers are in bloom and some summer flowers are still around. The white butterfly bush and the fragrant abelia are bright spots around the deck. Near the steps hang the dangerously beautiful Angel’s trumpet. This one is the Brugmansia. Some people like to call the Datura Angel’s Trumpet as well and that always leads to confusion. The flowers are similarly funnel shaped, but the Brugmansia’s hang down (they’ve been Bad) while the Datura’s point up. On the overlook there are two types of Brugmansia – a nice bright yellow one known as Charles Grimaldi and a peachy pink one known as Ecuador Pink.
On the hill side a tan swath of ‘Heavy Metal’ switch grass creates a nice foil for the brightly colored salvias that surround it. On one side is the intense purple of Mexican bush sage, with velvety flowers that invite you to stroke them. 
On the other side is the ‘Raspberry Royal’ autumn sage, its fiery red clusters of blossoms beckoning to the ever helpful bees. At the bottom of the hill, in front of the switch grass is ‘Black and Blue’ blue anise sage. Bright blue flowers erupt from black calyces. When a honey bee lands to take the nectar, the flower trembles lightly, but when a bumble bee stops by, the whole flower stoops under its weight. The brilliant colors spread across the hill are a great example of the variety of salvias in the autumn garden.
Well, I’m going to go enjoy some extra nice sap this evening and celebrate my birthday. Top of the world (or at least the overlook) to you.
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