The new fronds on all of the ferns in our garden are beginning to unfurl, they seem to grow at least an inch everyday! The Japanese Maple ‘Shishigashira’ or Lions Mane maple at our front entry is such a delight through each season, the fresh & delicate lime green of the new growth will be followed by a firm deep green almost crinkled foliage for summer, it then will turn a brilliant yellow in the fall (which looks like the sunshine that we so need on our rainy days!) and through the winter it’s bare branches are dense & strong enough to hold little white Christmas lights beautifully.
Colour is bursting out everywhere, some are vibrant and others more subtle but all lovely and beckon to be inspected.
The little rhododendron on the right is at least 15 years old, a friend who ran her own speciality nursery at the time reminded me that it was one I had admired at a Rhododendron Society slide show. It was very tiny in a 4″ pot and I thought the tag had said $2.95 so I purchased it, thinking I would nurse it along and see which one it was. When I read my receipt later it was actually $29.95! I confirmed with her that it was correct of course, it apparently was a very special one. Now all these years later I can appreciate that fact, while not a real showy flower, it has grown with no help from me into what almost looks like a bonsai.
