Daphne Odora

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Blooming Thursday: Daphne Odora

Daphne Daphne DaphneNo one told me Daphnes were finicky.  Just as well since I planted two over a decade ago. On at least three occasions landscapers and nurseryman applauded my success. What gardener doesn’t beam with pride at that? I sure do.

Then one died.  Just like that. Did I mention they’re finicky?

I’m keeping my eye on the other one. The surviving Daphne is in bloom this week, the darling of the winter garden. Daphne Odora shines brightly with glossy leaves and deep pink to white flowers. The plant will remain in bloom through spring, when lots of other color joins in. Yippee!!!

Happy Birthday Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin introduced soy beans and Kale to the US in his time.  He wasn’t so much a gardener as a man interested in seed trade. His legacy includes inventing bifocals and the Franklin Stove, not to mention his role as one of the Founding Fathers of America.  Happy birthday, Mr. Franklin .  One of my favorite quotes:

 “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”

This is an area where I have lots of room to grow.  It’s also an interesting metaphor for the garden.  Ask any plant, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Keep in the sunlight.

 

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Garden Wanderings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

It’s fun traversing the garden with my camera in hand.  The lens helps me see things in a different light, though I’m not always able to capture it.  Beautiful, golden grasses grow at the edge of our garden, but I’ve never been able to record and share their beauty as they move in the wind, offset by the vivid blue sky.  The grasses remind me of a film from my childhood of “amber waves of grain.”

In reality, not everything in the garden is as beautiful as amber waves of grain.  This month I’ve decided to capture the good (flowering vines), the bad (frost damage) and the ugly (pine sap) of my recent garden wanderings.  Here goes:

Hardenbergia violacea 'Happy Wanderer' (Purple Vine Lilac)

Wrapping Around the Trellis

Daphne Odora

Frost-damaged Ferns

Pine Sap Clings to the Cat Netting