THE FRIDAY GARDEN WALK
It is Friday, again, the last of March. It is time for a leisurely stroll around my garden to enjoy the beauty of God's creation in this glorious springtime we are enjoying in the south. It has been warm and wet of late and this has brought out all the plants at once. Let us walk around my garden as it appears in this, the last week of March. Click on image for enlargement.
White flowering chocolate vine (Akebia quinata 'Alba'). An excellent vine for a trellis in a sunny place. This one is in full bloom with small white flowers. Very aromatic, said to smell of chocolate, hence the common name..
The chocolate vine up close. A sweet aroma (does not smell of chocolate to me) fills up a section of the garden.
"Adams" crabapple tree (Malus 'Adams'). Dark pink flowers against the blue sky. This is a good choice for a flowering fruit tree. Grows to 20'. The large tree is sweet gum, the bane of my existence and soon to be gone entirely from my garden. I have removed most of them.
Variegated Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odorantum 'Variegata'). Good perennial for a moist shady spot. Small white, aromatic blooms.
Yellow bush is Abelia "Francis Mason," an excellent shrub. The evergreen on left is Spartan juniper. The palm is Windmill palm.
Japanese snowball (Viburnum plicatum 'Sterile'). This shrub is full grown at 20'x20'. At this time of the year it is always covered with hundreds of "snowballs" making it the spectacular star of the garden.
Yoshino Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica 'Yoshino'). These are about full grown at 40'x20'. They make an excellent screen near the street to give privacy to the garden. In the foreground are loropetalum shrubs. Loropetalum is commonly used in southern landscapes, for good reason.
Camellia "Emmett Barnes." Owing to the warm and wet winter, the camellias have flourished in my garden as never before and just do not want to quit blooming. Emmett Barnes is a small bush that blooms prolifically with pure white flowers, an unusual but worthwhile choice for a camellia.
I hope you enjoyed our little walk around my garden. And, I hope you are enjoying being out in this glorious springtime as much as I am. Whatever woes one may have in life, and we all have them, they are on the micro level. Getting outside and into nature one becomes immersed in life on the macro level. One realizes he or she is part of something far greater than oneself, a creation of boundless beauty, order, and wonder that could only have been made by a force infinitely greater than ourselves. A garden may not make one's woes go away, but it will make them easier to bear. Enjoy the spring. It is my favorite season of the year; and I hope it is yours too.
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OTHER NOTES.
As many of you know now, Bishop Skip Adams's wife, Bonnie, was recently diagnosed with Grade 1 breast cancer. She is to have surgery in Syracuse next Wednesday. Afterwards, she is to have radiation in Charleston. Please join me in prayers for Bonnie Adams's full and speedy recovery.
The Rev. Dr. William (Roy) L. Hills has published the second volume of his church stories: Divine Glimpses, Church Stories Volume II. Volumes I and II are available on Amazon. Vol. I was a delightful collections of vignettes of parish life to which we can all relate. I am sure Vol. II will be an equally worthwhile read.
_____________________________
OTHER NOTES.
As many of you know now, Bishop Skip Adams's wife, Bonnie, was recently diagnosed with Grade 1 breast cancer. She is to have surgery in Syracuse next Wednesday. Afterwards, she is to have radiation in Charleston. Please join me in prayers for Bonnie Adams's full and speedy recovery.
The Rev. Dr. William (Roy) L. Hills has published the second volume of his church stories: Divine Glimpses, Church Stories Volume II. Volumes I and II are available on Amazon. Vol. I was a delightful collections of vignettes of parish life to which we can all relate. I am sure Vol. II will be an equally worthwhile read.
