Second Flower

In many ways these purple tinged Trilliums look completely different from their initial form showing pure white flowers.  These transplants have held this ground for many years now producing blossoms sized much like the native plants across the river.  Maidenhair ferns in the immediate background have also been here for a number of years.  Somehow these plants cover and hold their ground.  It is the result of luck not skill.  The general area is also home to a large number of violets which pull the deer in for a tasty snack.  The wire cage is intended to keep the deer foot prints away from this ground.  Not native but it works.

Decades ago daughter Amy and I were hiking at the Buttermilk Falls park near Ithaca.  A sharply sloped shale ridge was home to a huge group of Columbine plants.  How these plants were able to send out roots into tiny cracks in the stone wall remains a mystery.  This single from seed plant growing from our drystone wall serves as a reminder of the day we happened on generously flowered cliff face.  The Ground ivy is viewed as an invasive pest but it does have blue flowers.

Bluets have a long history here of resisting our efforts to grow them.  This small group is inside of a small mesh wire cage but they are self planted on the horizontal surface of the stone wall.  These plants were originally taken from a sloped lawn that was moist from a septic dry well.  Subjected to mowing and dampness they thrived.  We have been largely unsuccessful in our many attempts to grow this plant.  These will stay caged where they are while we look for new from seed plants in the immediate area.

 

Prairie smoke is a Great Plains native that has held this spot near the house for a few years.  These after the flowers airy presentation is just super.  We do not know if the cage is necessary but why risk removing it?

 

It has taken several years for this Perennial bachelors button to hold its ground  The initial transplant appeared to have died but a low cluster of leaves could be seen during the second year.  It took awhile for the plant to reach a size that allowed blossoms.  Some care is needed to remove nearby weeds.

It seems that we hold a fascination for ditch weeds.  Dame's rocket seems to be everywhere alongside of any road.  It resists transplantation since it has a hefty tap root.  A true biannual, it shows a large coarse robust circle of  close to the ground leaves in its first year.  The explosion of growth in its second year features a variety of colored flowers.  We keep it in our garden by allowing plants from seed to grow in the stone paths between planting beds.  How could anyone not see these blossoms as desirable?

Pinxter bushes are more than welcome here.  When we still had a sense of smell, the calming effect of these flower's scent was a real mood booster.  Their growth habit of open flowers ahead of leaves  is unusual but the number of blossoms is amazing.

The fox has not been seen here for quite some time.  Its right front paw has sustained an injury.  Every step features a limp but when it is time to move on super speed is still possible.  When this animal was first sighted a slow walk straight toward the window was attempted since past movements inside of the house have sent the fox running.  It was in the freshly mowed lawn when first seen but my movement sent it away.  Several days after this picture was taken we came upon a dead fox in the road.  We were about four miles from here when we encountered it and hope that it was not the one that hunts here.
 

Elusive Seeds

This photo from mid May is a flower that has captured our attention.  Six of its parts are getting ready to spread and capture pollen so that seeds will form.  The longest threadlike piece is the single female part.  Its  visibly moist end is ready to catch and hold pollen.  Two of the shorter male parts are displaying visible yellow pollen.  We have yet to see any insect activity around these Pinxter flowers so how the pollen is moved is not known.  Wind is a possible answer to that question.

For the past several weeks we have been making daily visits to these plants looking to see seeds.  This picture shows several open seed pods and one that remains tightly closed.  Next year's flower buds are also visible but that is another story.  The withered remains of the female part that captured and transported pollen can still be seen  protruding from some seed pods.

A tray of sterilized potting soil was set out to receive Pinxter seeds.  The hardware cloth cover is to keep the mice away.  This morning a branch tip that still held several unopened seed pods was cut and pushed into the ground.  One flower bud was inadvertently included.  Our wild imagination saw the possibility of this cutting sending down roots.  Our attempt to take stem cuttings earlier in the year was a dismal failure.  At that time the plant is growing vigorously and the tip with no roots simply died.  This is the time of year when hardwood plants send out new root growth so we see the possibility that we may have stumbled onto something.

We were able to shake out several seeds from an almost open seed pod.  Exactly how the seeds form could not be seen but we are now quite certain that the published report that described these seeds as sporting milkweed like fluff on both ends now appears false.  These seeds were placed on the surface of the sterilized soil since it appears that the plant simply lets the wind plant the seeds.  So now we wait.  It is somewhat bizarre that two people well into their seventh decade are so excited about  the possibility of a growing seed that will require many years of growth before its first flower is seen.  It is possible that an outlook like that is why we have reached the middle of our seventh decade.

Looking To Next Year

This is perhaps the busiest time of year in the gardens.  We race to pull the grassy weeds before they drop their seed load.  Vegetable beds must be cleared of weeds and dead plants in preparation for fall enrichment of the soil.  While we try to find a time of the day relatively free of stifling heat and humidity for our efforts, the plants are also at work preparing for next year.

Cardinal Flower reproduces by both seeds and daughter plants.  Up to six new plants appear at this time of year around the base of the soon to be dead stem.  These plants remain green all winter with or without snow cover.  The thin flowering stem is something that we have never seen before.  Plants similar to this one can be seen in several places throughout the garden.  They may be new plants from seed.  If so, they do not usually flower in their first year.  They more commonly grow only a rosette of low leaves in preparation for the coming winter.  This miniature plant is also displaying the sexual activity that precedes the formation of seeds.

One of the remaining mysteries about Cardinal Flower is how the large number of daughter plants that form under a cluster of enduring flowering plants survive.  Each browning stem in this photo identifies a single mature plant.  Each mature stem will try to produce up to six daughter plants for next year.  Overcrowding seems highly likely and we will leave this plant in place to see how it grows next year.  A plastic bucket will be used to protect these young plants from frost so that we can watch and perhaps learn more about this native treasure.

Pinxter is another native plant that seems to hide its business from our prying eyes.  This cluster of maturing seed pods will be closely watched every day now.  The brown object among the seed pods has already split open releasing its seeds.  We have read that each seed has fluff similar to milkweed at both ends of the seed.  We would like to see that and a controlled planting of these seeds should prove interesting.  It is likely that we have weeded out Pinxter seedlings every year simply because we did not know what they looked like.  I wonder just how many years are required for a Pinxter plant from seed to form flowers?

Pinxter is a plant that forms its flower buds ahead of the coming winter.  Several early flowering plants share this trait.  These buds are at great risk of becoming wildlife food during the harsh days of winter.  We will surround our plants with wire cages to deny the deer access to our plants.  It seems that many native plants cannot survive without human intervention now.

We have appeared to be gone from the face of the earth lately.  Our internet connection disappeared and the phone company had great difficulty both finding and repairing the problem.  We hope that their recent efforts prove durable.

First Garden Order of 2018

Propagating treasured plants by rooting cuttings has to date presented one failed attempt after another.  For example, Trailing Arbutus has been successfully transplanted here three separate times involving 12 different plants.  Rooting cuttings of this plant has been attempted several times and every last cutting has died.  An amazing trait of this plant is how long it takes for the cutting to totally die.  For weeks the cutting looks alive and that offers hope that a new plant has been created but its dead stick reveals absolutely no root growth.  In the end its death is obvious.

My well worn copy of the highly informative and lavishly illustrated book The New England Wild Flower Society Guide To Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada written by William Cullina contains instructions for growing new Arbutus plants from cuttings.  My repeated attempts to follow those instructions always ended in failure.  Then I found an article entitled Propagating and Transplanting Trailing Arbutus or Mayflower (Epigaea repens)  also written by William Cullina in which he confessed to using rooting hormone #2.  My resultant internet searches for rooting hormone #2 revealed the existence of such a product but it was listed for sale only in large quantities, suitable for thousands of cuttings, carrying a hefty price.  I was tempted to pay the price but wondered just what use could be made of that much magic powder.

Just the other day I stumbled across an offer listing reasonably sized containers of all three strengths of rooting hormone.  At 25 grams each, these were perfect for home use.  The cost of international shipping, the hydroponic growing supplier is located in Canada, is rather high but is the same for one container or three.  My decision was made.  The package was delivered today.

This year I plan to try rooting cuttings taken from only male Arbutus plants.  This is not a sexist decision but rather one based upon the reality of the genders my plants.  My early attempt at transplanting these wonderful plants was successful but I was unaware of the existence of both male and female plants.  As a result, I have way more male plants than female plants.  If the planned cuttings root, they will be planted out under a row of White Pines that were set out more than three decades ago, spaced so that an occasional female plant can be placed between the boys.  The female cuttings will be taken the following year only if this year's planned cuttings root.  A huge line of Arbutus plants under these relatively young White Pines with the possibility of naturally producing seed would be a wonderful outcome for  our years spent on this piece of land.

These laudable pure intentions exist in contradiction of my plans for compound #3.  A single highly invasive alien plant grows into the lane near the Arbutus wall planting.  Autumn Olive is on several do not plant lists and is generally unavailable in light of its horrid reputation.  Early each summer this bush is covered with sweet smelling white flowers.  My single old plant has undergone extensive rude prunings to keep the lane open for those holding a right of way to pass here.  This bush is nearly done so hardwood cuttings are its only chance for a next generation.  My abandoned fields are being taken over by another invasive alien, Japanese Honeysuckle, so adding another invader to the mix does not seem completely evil.  I am getting ahead of myself since I remain zero for hundreds of cutting attempts.  I also intend to try Pinxter cuttings.  If successful those new native plants should offset some of the evil karma that will undoubtedly follow new Autumn Olive plants.

Seasonal Shift

Last night the temperature dropped into the low 40s.  At a different time of the year the decision to cover tender plants or take a chance would have been made.  August frost is not unheard of here but it certainly is rare.  An extra early wake up found the air filled with moist fog.

New England asters fill the roadside ditches and grow freely in other waste places.  A purple flower catches my attention every time so we have this native growing in far too many locations in our planting beds.  Roadside locations show this plant flowering on short stems following highway crew's mowing.  Here the deer rough prune as they walk our garden paths.  The plant's response is to produce more flowers on shortened stems.  We have yet found the time to prune and the beautiful flowers appear at the top of tall stems.  Lower the stem is covered with dead dark leaves.  With care these plants would make excellent garden subjects.

My Great grandfather introduced me to both chrysanthemums and the notion that real men could grow flowers.  Our cold location makes mums usually an annual plant here.  These Mammoth Pinks may be an exception.  Out in the garden they frequently winter kill.  These located right in front of the south facing house wall have expanded after two years in this spot.
 

Nursery men find our native asters irresistible.  From them they have created an aggressive plant named October Skies that grows rather close to the ground while maintaining the wild form of the flower.  No pruning is needed here but a large space will be filled by this plant.  Our original scrap of a mail order plant has given us two divisions and it still closes off the path opening in the stone wall.

Clara Curtis is truly hardy here.  It winters over with ease and has taken over large areas of whatever planting bed where we placed it.  Its appearance would benefit from some timely pruning and thinning.  We do manage to weed out occasional intrusions toward other treasured plants but have so far resisted the pull to sell plants.

This resembles a weedy jumble but it actually contains treasure.  This Pinxter bush has formed seed pods.  Checked daily, we plan to harvest some seed at exactly the right moment and again attempt to raise some of these plants from seed.  Our first attempt at this failed but this time we will place a screen barrier to keep out garden rodents.  This native plant grows best in moist locations that would also support the natural growth of Cardinal Flower.  We may have the perfect spot for these two plants to grow together.  All we need now is to get the seeds to sprout.

Native Sweetness

If there is a more brazenly beautiful native flower, I have yet to see it.  Thrusting their sexual parts far from the flower is relatively common to entice pollination but the addition of color and fragrance makes this presentation unique.  The single pollen receptor extends beyond five pollen producers and is tipped with white attracting liquid.  We have yet to see a pollinator in action on these flowers but each year some seed pods are produced.  Our first Pinxter from seed has yet to appear but we remain hopeful.

Placing these plants near a field stone wall was no accident.  We find that the soil at the base of a stone wall remains moist even when rainfall is scant.  In the wild, we find these plants growing above but close by wet ground.  The contrast of the dull solid stone and the vibrant pink of the flowers is spectacular.

Last winter presented many difficult situations but non hit us harder than a deer feeding on this treasured plant.  Pinxter growth is unusual in that all of the action happens at the tips of the branches.  Bare branches are crowned with flowers and leaves while most of the branch remains void of growth.  We expected that the deer damage might severely impact the plant.  As it turns out the pruned tips are causing new growth to appear lower on the stems.  This new growth might have  been suitable material for heel cuttings intending to grow new plants.  Now it appears doubtful that I have what it takes to put blade to branch in search of new plants.  It is most likely that this plant will be allowed to repair itself unmolested.

Our other Pinxter went unnoticed by the marauding deer.  Wire cages were scattered about in front of this bush and that may have kept the deer at bay.  This fall we will intentionally surround these plants with wire protection.  For now we have the promise of an  abundance of sweet flowers in the coming days.  This will give us many chances to try and identify and describe the components of this perfume.  In contrast to the visual boldness of these flowers, their scent remains subtle.  It carries on the breeze close by the plant but defies description.  Some have reported that the scent of these flowers brings to mind the comfort smell of baking bread.  That it does but there is also an understated presence of some spice.  We must walk near to these flowers every time that we move from the garden to the house.  It goes without saying that nearly every such trip includes a pleasant pause to take in more of this exotic scent.

Blue Smoke Rising

With daytime temperatures above forty degrees F, a walk in the garden was a must today.  We were not the only creatures on the move as tracks in the soft snow were everywhere.  I walked into the stone square to check on the condition of favored plants.  What I saw just sucked the joy from this great day.  Common street words in unique combinations loudly echoed from the ridges.  It took several minutes for the blue smoke to clear before I could snap this photo!

Deer footprints in the snow here and this completely pruned Pinxter bush are a disaster.  At this time of year newly formed but tightly closed buds are found at the end of each branch.  Flowers will open first quickly followed by leaves.  One untouched bud can be seen in the lower right side of the picture.  We do not know how this plant will respond to the trimming.  If new growth appears where branches leave the main stem, the plant should be presentable in another year.  This type of new growth might also provide an opportunity to take soft wood cuttings.

The area inside of the stone walls is not usually visited by deer.  We are home for a mature female deer that has proven to be an excellent mother.  She usually gives birth to twins and they remain close by her.  It is common to see last year's twins mixed in with the new ones.  During hunting season this family group stays close by our home and gardens.  More and more they are eating garden plants.  Daylily buds were discovered to be an epicurean treat last season.  Now we will need to cage the daylilys if we expect to see flowers.  Recently we saw a deer feeding on the clove currant bush right in front of the house.  At this rate we may change the name of this place from Stone Wall Gardens to Fence Wire Inn.

On May 28, 2016, the shrub in the above picture looked like this.  It looks to me like all of the growth, both flowers and leaves, springs from the ends of the branches.  There is little doubt that this plant took a serious hit today.  I now have wire cages placed to make it difficult for the deer to reach these plants.  The good news is that the larger nearby companion plant was not yet touched by the deer.  For that plant the wire defenses were placed in time.

Nothing But Good News

With nearly all of the snow melted, a garden walkabout was necessary.  We focused on plants that had done well under the snow.  It never fails to amaze us that plant life goes on under the snow in the dead of winter.  I'm dressed in snow pants, a head hood, an insulated hoodie and gloves and it was necessary for me to go inside after a very short time outside.  That makes me feel weak by comparison.

My Great Grandfather gave me a clump from one of his chrysanthemums when I was about 13 years old.  His garden was located in southwestern Pennsylvania while I lived in upstate  New York.  The difference in climate zones and the inattention typical of young boys combined to end the special gift.  Now that I am older and slower, chrysanthemums continue to present problems.  They simply prefer warmer conditions.  Mammoth pink is the name of this plant.  We nearly lost it last year but it is still here.  A loose mulch applied now would vastly improve the likely hood of survival.   After my hands warm up I should go and do that today.

Pinxter is a native shrub whose scientific classification remains muddled.  This plant was taken from the wild here while most plants that are written about were found well south of the Mason Dixon Line.  Its Latin name may be in doubt but as a garden specimen it is wonderful.  The open and empty seed clusters point to seed production and natural dispersion this year.  Come spring we will be cautious when weeding in this area.  New plants from seed would please us no end.  We believe that the buds contain next year's flowers.  We eagerly await the chance to wrap ourselves in their sweet scent.

Blue Lobelia exists in our garden because it is a close relative of Cardinal Flower.  Blue Lobelia grows like a weed here while Cardinal Flower needs our help to just hold on.  This clump of the blue was levered out and thrown to the side awaiting removal.  I did not get back to finish the job and this clump just continued to grow and flower totally on its own.  It needs to be moved to a larger and wilder location.

This clump of Cardinal Flower grows inside of the stone square.  Early this spring this clump will be dug and divided.  Each plant will get its own pot which will be moved into the basement when frost threatens.  The difficulty associated with keeping this plant alive is part of its appeal.

The red hips mark the location of our Carolina Rose.  This is a native wildflower and is the New York State flower in spite of its southern name.  We found it growing along the fence line and moved it into the garden.  It spreads freely by long underground runners.  This plant also needs more room to grow.  We are preparing a place down by the road where our New England Asters, Black-eyed Susans and this rose can freely grow.  But now I need to place mulch over the chrysanthemums.

Searching For Wild Pinxter

At this time of the year, garden work demands more of our time time than there are hours in a day.  Since the oppressive heat wave makes outside work impossible for us each afternoon, riding around in an air conditioned car seemed the better choice.  We have known about this location for pinxter growing wild for years but seldom visited here during the time of the flowers.  This land is owned by a former student but we never sought permission to take plants here.  There is something wrong in our minds about taking protected plants from the wild even with the landowner's permission.  Our need to uphold the supposed standards of a teacher in front of students made seeking permission to dig here impossible.  The view from the road is fabulous.  Seeing these plants made our day special.

As great as these pictures are, we were shocked to find that the road crew had severely impacted this once huge area of pinxter plants.  What had been a shallow roadside perpetually wet drainage area had been transformed with the digging of a deep wide ditch with steep sides.  This artificial and unnecessary ditch could not be safely crossed to get a close up view of the plants.  Too wide to leap across and no footholds available to descend into the ditch, we were forced to view these plants from road's edge.  Countless pinxter plants were destroyed during the digging of this ditch.  What had been a shallow wet area is now well drained and dry.

After spending many pleasant moments taking in the splendor of this native treasure, we traveled to a nearby village to visit the site where we did take wild plants.  We found that this area, adjacent to a village street, had been sheared of all brushy growth.  No trace of pinxter bushes could now be found in this area.  Actually, that made us feel better about taking plants from the wild.  The bushes that we took are alive and well at their new home.  Had we left then where they were growing, they would now be wood chips rotting alongside of the street.

In view of our rather extreme lack of recent rainfall, we have added our pinxters to the list of plants that get a sprinkling can of water every other day.  Their floral display is impressive and we carry water to them in the hope that they will set viable seed.  Taking plants from the wild can bring with it the responsibility to provide them with complete care.  They respond to a fresh drink by releasing a sweet cloud of inviting scent.

Another Native Treasure

It is a common sight at this time of year to see a pinxter in flower in front of many older homes.  Some of these plants have reached an impressive size in their many decades as a tended plant.  New York State identified pinxter as a protected plant but the fine for taking one remains at only $25.  The state law clearly identifies the landowner as holding the responsibility for plants located on his property.  Transplanting with permission is permitted in our state.  This plant was recently moved from our dry woods to a spot near a stone wall.  Stones have a way of gathering moisture on warm summer nights and this plant has found its new location to its liking.   Afternoon shade seems to be a plus but many of these plants are in full sun.  We shall not move it again.  It will hold this spot in the garden as long as we are here.

Our other native wild specimen has been in this spot for several years.  Last year it flowered impressively and even set  seed.  The three pots at the base of the bush were filled with sterile potting soil and pinxter seeds.  Some of the seeds were scratched into the soil while others were simply sprinkled on top of the soil.  Unless some animal plants wild seeds, dropping on the surface seems like it might be the natural method.  If any of these seeds germinate, we will have no way of knowing which seed placement produced plants.  We frequently see this plant growing above but near running water.  If any of these seeds grow, we will place them near a sunny spring run at the base of the ridge. Somehow we feel obligated to help increase the number of native plants to offset our having transplanted some here.

The brazen presentation of these fetching pink flowers never fails to catch my eye.  Upturned bent buds also appear unusual.  This is where we are sticking our noses now.  Both our arbutus and clove currants are past flowering.  Rhododendron nudiflorum is currently on our list of sweet smelling treats.  It has been been quite a strange Spring so far, frost is in the wings both tonight and Friday.

Light Last Frost

We were prepared to deal with three consecutive nights of possible freeze or frost.  All of the plants on the wall were carried into the basement.  Since this is no small effort, they remained there until the danger passed.  Wet, but in subdued light, they came through the scary nights unscathed.  The forecast calls for warm nights in the coming days so we can begin to remove plants from pots and fill the garden.

Pinxter opens its flowers before leaves appear.  An earlier frost took the unopened flowers while the leaves were still tightly closed.  Now the plant is poised for a full season of healthy growth.  Perhaps we will see flowers next year.

Summer sweet sends out its leaves ahead of the flowers.  Small brown twists mark the locations of leaves that were open for the previous frost.  Newly opened tender green leaves were able to survive this one night with a light frost.  In time the plant will fully leaf out and should manage a grand display of sweetly scented flowers.  Here we were lucky.

Becky had resigned herself to the fact that her tree peony would never flower here.  The only cover available for this plant was a large wrap of thin nylon cloth.  With that small amount of protection, all three buds survived the frost.  We will look for flowers this year.

None of the plants in this photo were covered from the frost and all survived.  The poppies are somewhat sensitive to frost.  The light frost caused them no harm.  The lily is a survivor from the days when we expected them to survive with no protection.  Survive it did and perhaps we will be able to identify it by its flower this year.

Our bearded iris had sent up buds just ahead of the frost.  We prepared ourselves for a year with no flowers but the light frost did them no harm.  This unknown variety from Becky's grandmother's garden still flowers and stimulates a pleasant childhood memory.

These lilies in the sod house also look great.  The holes mark the locations of plants that had grown too tall to fit under the tarp.  They were pulled to spend cold nights in the basement.  We will now begin to move the lilies into the garden after they are removed from the pots.

Busy days lie ahead of us as we set out both flower and vegetable plants.  We were lucky to have waited longer than many.  We were lucky that this last frost was light.  Now we can get to some serious gardening.

Worth a Second Look

Now that all of the flowers are open the pinxter, Rhododendron nudiflorum, deserves a second look.  It is common here to see one of these plants in the front yards of older homes.  That placement in full sun sometimes results in a weak plant that cannot compare with a wild specimen at forest's edge near damp soil.  The inside NW corner of the stone wall provides shade for the base of the plant each afternoon while the upper branches will grow into full sun.  If we provide ample water, the plant should thrive in this location.

In 1771 Peter Kalm described pinxter flowers as having some smell but that it was not very pleasant.  Later writers commonly downplay the scent of this plant.  I have always been enchanted by the subtle spicy fragrance of these blossoms.  For me, arbutus followed by clove currant then pinxter fills each spring with one delicious scent after another.

The fifteen year delay between acquisition of these native plants and first flower was the result of two factors.  I was resistant to taking these plants from the wild.  Three tiny specimens wedged between the roots of a tree were all that I would take.  Larger flowering plants were left undisturbed.  Then the three runts were placed in dry woods.  They needed more moisture and more light.  Flowers followed three years after the move to a better location.  There is no satisfactory explanation for the twelve years of neglect endured by this plant.  Two still await rescue.

The protruding business parts of these flowers are a bit brazen.  The bright pink color does not soften this visual statement.  Add in the sweet spicy smell and a compelling scene is created.

Pinxter Flowers in Only Fifteen Years!

We go way back with pinxters, Rhododendron nudiflorum.  When we first bought the land before Ed was retired, we searched everywhere looking for pinxters.  Alas there were none here.  This is a wild native plant that Ed has always wanted to grow.  It was Pat who took Ed to a place where they flourished, so he could dig some small plants.  He planted them in the back along the edge of the woods.  We watched them for years.  They didn't die, but they didn't grow either.  Perhaps it was too dry or too shady in any case the plants were never happy.  Four years ago we purchased a pinxter bush at  Catskill Native Nursery.  They said the plant they had was closely  related to the native pinxter.  We planted it in this spot inside the stone walls.  Even with winter snow cover it died.   Three years ago Ed went back and dug up one of the plants that was languishing in the dry woods and replaced the dead shrub.  This spring there were buds.  Finally we have flowers!   It's hard to express the excitement we feel looking at these beautiful flowers after all this time.  Think how delighted this plant must be!

I realize that most of the flowers are still buds.  Perhaps in a few days the flowers would be more impressive, but 15 years is long enough to wait.  We have at least four flowers open now!

Feast your eyes on a precious pinxter flower.  If you were here you could experience its subtle fragrance.  I don't know how long the flowers will last, but we will enjoy every minute.  When Ed gets a chance two other bushes will be moved.  After fifteen years, they deserve their chance to bloom too!