Welcome to my zone 9 garden. My roots are deeply planted in the sandy soil of sub-tropical central Florida, where the summers are long and hot, but the rest of the year is paradise!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Stemsational

You know how you walk through your garden time after time...looking to see what's doing well...what's new...or what's blooming, and then one day something different catches your eye and you lean in for a closer look. The next thing you know you're noticing this "something different" all over the garden.

Well, that happened to me the other day when I caught sight of this crimson-colored stem on the abelia. The chartreuse leaves next to the deep red crimson stem highlighted by the sun caught my eye...it was a striking combination.

The next thing I knew, the stems on other plants were jumping out at me wherever I walked...like the fuzzy water-filled stems of this begonia. I just had to reach out and touch it.

And, then there was the burgundy stems on the Japanese painted fern.

Everywhere I turned...more pretty stems!
In this case...a jungle of black elephant ear stems swaying in the breeze.

And, this very unusual spotted stem on and even more unusual plant...the amorphophallus that my neighbor Nancy gave me.

Does this every happen to you?
Something unusual that you rarely notice catches your eye...and then you can't help but notice it all around your garden.

9 comments:

Meems said...

I DO love all the stems you photographed. I think we are becoming more grateful for EVERY part of the plant as we *mature*. There are so many details beyond the leaves, flowers, veins... stems/trunks can be remarkably artistry. Beautiful.
Meems

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Interesting post Susan. Love the catchy title. That one plant given to you by your neighbor is really different. It's interesting that you mentioned something jumping out at you. This morning it was the centers of certain plants so I took some pictures. Will see how they turned out later.

We did get some much needed rain, but we could really use a good soaking. It's partly cloudy here today, windy and not as hot as it was last week.

Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

NanaK said...

I can certainly see why these stems caught your eye. The contrast against the leaves on each one is striking. Love the black-stemmed elephant ear. My alocasias, Polly and Aurora haven't shown up yet this year. I'm sure hoping they hurry up and sprout back.

Unknown said...

It's amazing what one can see when you sit a spell,just contemplating the garden,isn't it? Love your photos.

daisy g said...

What a wonderful perspective! I guess we have to be ready to notice these things, huh? Enjoy your lovely blooms and stems!

Ami said...

Ooh, that Japanese painted fern is so beautiful! Isn't it great that you can always discover something new and gorgeous even you think you have known your garden so well?! Beautiful photos of all the stems and leaves, and yes, I also often discover something similar, and can not help myself taking pictures of everything or "nothing" :)

Susan said...

Meems...I totally agree with you...maturity does throw a different perspective on to a person's outlook on everything. Slowing down a bit for a closer look is definitely one of the benefits of maturity. :-)

Flowerlady...Yes, indeed, flower centers are extraordinarily beautiful. I've seen close-ups where you'd never guess it was the center of a flower. Looking forward to seeing some of your "flower centers" on your blog.

Hi Kay...I've got one alocasia that hasn't come back yet either, and another one that is painstakingly slow to grow. I guess they want to make sure the warm weather is here to stay.

Chris...Yes it is! I need to sit more and observe but I always find something that needs to be done.

Daisy...It makes me wonder what other wonderful parts of the garden I'm missing because I'm so busy admiring the flowers instead of looking for the subtlies.

Ami...That Japanese painted fern is a favorite...such wonderful smoky colors.

SiestaSister said...

Can't wait for it to get a little lighter so I can go out and look at stems. I have always like my star begonia's stems. The more I look at the photos on all the blogs, the more I want a better camera.

The plant your neighbor gave you is really interesting. Hoping to see more pics of it in the future.

Have a great day!

Rusty in Miami said...

Yes I agree gardens change on a daily basis, and if we are not looking we’ll miss the changes. That’s a cool spotted stem.

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