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January 1, 2010....A bright sunny,blue sky morning
It is very cold today, but the gypsy in me went looking for red in the garden
Would you believe this is a volunteer? I just noticed it this fall when the red berries were caught in sunlight as I was looking for a lost hosta. You see the garden has been at war in that corner....thick with red twig dogwoods that seem to have spread themselves along my neighbors fence. They have advanced on coneflowers,siberian irises, but lost a battle with Joe Pye weed...or should I say that there is a temporary truce. Well somewhere in there I was certain there was a very nice hosta, probably fading away. On my way back to the front line of this battle I discovered a flank of invaders...not sure what kind of bush it is..but it is stunning and it stays. I am ultimately the commander in chief. I think they may be winterberry bushes. If you know..I 'd like to know. Anyway, this morning, the heart ache blue sky aroused my senses, and I just needed to know if those red berries had survived the snow. Yes, indeed they had. But why? Why aren't the birds plucking every last berry off of that bush? All the other berries have been devoured. Maybe they ripen for the spring migration.
Oh I miss the robins. They probably "planted" the seeds for these bushes.
Isn't life grand?
Oh ,the magic of the garden....look who came and visited me while I was out looking for red?
I best get to filling the feeders.................Joy, Susan
Hooray! I'm the first follower!! Love the new blog and looking forward to more!! You can never have TOO much inspiration!!!
ReplyDeleteHello Robin....I love Robins you know....you should know everything about Robins..
ReplyDeleteI hope to focus on the garden not gardening..
thanks for signing on
:)
What a beautiful surprise! The bush and the cardinal! Just lovely, Sue. I have a fight going on in my garden too, but because it's been neglected for at least two summers. And it won't be the first time that I just have to start over.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of looking for colors.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos, Suz! Here's where learning botanical names comes in handy, though. (Please know I'm not preaching, this is an explanation I've given in talks and articles). What you call winterberry may be very different from what we in my part of Canada call winterberry (Ilex verticillata, also known commonly as Canada Holly, a deciduous holly). I discovered that there's another winterberry referred to in parts of the US but I don't remember what it was right now (it's late). Your bush doesn't look like what I call winterberry ( I. vert) to me just because of those long, leaning canes, and if it is that, it would be unlikely to grow very quickly from seed, as these shrubs are very slow to come from seed.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe it's Nandina, (heavenly bamboo)? Does that grow in Illinois? I am probably talking thru my hat here, because our floras are very different. Someone in the US can likely identify it instantly. I'm not sure from just the photo.
My point, other than it's a great photo and brilliant red, is that whatever it IS, it would have the same botanical name whether you were in Illinois, Israel, Italy, or Ireland. That's the good thing about bot. names. The bad thing is that they're often hard to spell and/or say, and they too get changed sometimes.
You give talks...uh oh...
ReplyDeleteI'm busted
I don't think it is a holly
but now I am determined to find out what it is that just grew there by itself...
Truthfully I have many such plants that just appear
BUT HEAVENLY BAMBOO..how sweet that would be
I have a friend who is a horticulturist (sp?)
my eyes glaze over when she's here..she's given up on me