Some plants are better off dead, or nearly so, in that they look much more interesting that way. I am a big fan of the Poinsettia plant - not in December, but weeks later - maybe March. By that time, the owner has long since stopped watering it and the leaves have curled up into fascinating shapes far more interesting than the original live plant.
I feel the same way about the common type of Day Lilly (Hemerocallis) - I guess I have seen one too many run of the mill orange and yellow specimens. The Day Lilly pictured here (they came with the house) is from my front yard. Why do I have them at all? They came with the house. With a little evening back-lighting and Death breathing down its neck, the common orange Day Lilly is transformed into "botanical stained glass". I had a tough time getting the entire image in sharp focus, but decided the vibrant colors mitigated that shortcoming, and made them worth showing off.
I swear as I walk through my neighborhood in the past week, I have been thinking the same thing!! These ruffly, curly, darkening shapes are fascinating miniature abstracts (though I miss the fragrance) and are much more visually intriguing.
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