Unexpected

Not having much experience with hostas, I was surprised to see the lovely white flower one of the front yard hostas produced. The hostas on the side of the house send up lanky stalks that have little purple flowers along the end. I thought all hostas flowered like this. I personally do not like this flower and only leave them alone (instead of cutting them off) because the bees seem to like them. To me they look awkward and messy. Imagine my surprise when I saw the lovely white flower this particular hosta came up with. Now I wonder what kind of flowers other types of hostas produce. I actually like this one.

I found a bargain priced tamarisk at the local garden center, and picked it up fully intending to plant it up front, in the sunniest part of the yard. The garden worker admonished me to plant it in a spot that had tons of sun, as she planted one in a spot that only got 4 hours of sun and her tree died. Once I got it home, I changed my mind and ended up planting it in the backyard where it can get maximum sunlight and, thus, half a chance to survive its experience. Back to tearing up sod.

Once the tamarisk was planted, I sat back to watch things in the yard. First, two monarch butterflies came by and landed on the butterfly weed. This surprised me as I thought Monarchs only liked milkweed plants. Go figure. Then I spied a thirteen-lined ground squirrel climbing up a mulberry tree. It was up there about eight feet from the ground. This was also a surprise, as I thought ground squirrels stayed on the ground. Then Wee Bunny showed up and scooted under the ferns by the garage. I could see its white tail as it sat in the shade of the ferns. This guy is so cute. He's not exactly 'wee' anymore, but he's still a junior rabbit. He was running back and forth by the fence yesterday afternoon in what appeared to be a bunny version of having fun. I could see no other reason for doing it except for pleasure. Perhaps he was experiencing joi de vivre.

I went to the Atrium garden center again yesterday, looking at possible hydrangeas for the front yard. I found them, but at great expense. So now I'm waiting for a hydrangea sale (if there is such a thing). However, I managed to pick up a few more plants and an inexpensive pot to make yet another arrangement for the side door, by the chair which seems to have taken up permanent residence there. The overall effect is pleasant, which I guess is what encourages me to make more of them. Talk about positive reinforcement.