Thriving

It's refreshing....and quite heart warming actually to hear politicians talking about joy. It feels so hopeful! 

I have a shrub in front of our condo that I have nurtured since it was just a tiny little twig.  All this time I thought it was a daphne...but my plant app tells me it's actually a Japanese pieris, a type of andromeda. The new growth comes in pink.....and makes me smile everytime it appears. 

At least 10 years ago....maybe 12...I purchased a flat of tiny little evergreens when we lived in the parsonage in Lexington. There may have been 6 little shrubs in the pack...all different...and they were adorable. For several years I assembled a winter planter for the stoop at the back door....then I would move the plants to the garden for the summer. They were small...so I could just tuck them here and there.

But eventually they got too big to keep transplanting....so I found permanent places in the yard...and a few didn't make it. But this variegated pieris survived...and it was my favorite...and I knew I wanted to see it through long term. So I moved it to the condo.

It started in the backyard by the patio...but it wasn't the best spot for it. Then when I reworked the front garden I thought it would make a good focal foundation shrub...so the poor things got moved again. You can see it there in the middle between the begonias.

It's been in its new spot for about 4 years now...and it's thriving. 

Paul and I have been retired in our new spot now for almost that long....and we're thriving too! And there's a good chance that some of our new growth is pink too!