Sometimes it’s the little things, the small details that brings me such joy in the spring landscape. Sure, the grand sweep of a bank of pink azaleas under a grove of loblolly pine is stunning, but you have to stand back far away to take it all in. In those scenes, sometimes I feel a bit detached from it all, because to get closer is to loose the beauty. The parts of the landscape I like the best are those elements that are best appreciated on your hands and knees.
Most people who visit never see the clumps of blue stars in spring time, circling our star magnolia at the back corner of our house near the garage. They bloom, quarter-sized and pastel blue, for only a few weeks, and the strap-like foliage is plain like liriope or mondo grass, so few notice them unless they happen to walk close by the spot. For some reason I cannot wait to see the first ones in late March. Costing only four or five dollars for a dozen bulbs, blue star, Ipheion uniflorum ‘Wisley Blue’, is one of the best investments when it comes to the lesser spring bulbs. There is a pink form, ‘Charlotte Bishop,’ and a deep blue called ‘Jessie,’ If you are looking for something a bit more pricey. Maybe someday, but for now I like these just fine. In the ground about a half a dozen years, they have steadily increased, becoming more delightful each year. I should probably leave them alone for a few more seasons, but I so want to divide them and spread the beauty around under the canopy of other small trees and shrubs in the landscape. What do you think?
Get out this week end and enjoy what God has made in this world for us to enjoy and marvel at, to his praise and glory. Have a prosperous Lord’s day.
