Saturday morning variety

I'd like to take a look at some interesting things that I've seen over the last couple of days. They don't really lend themselves to full posts, but they turn into an interesting collection. First up, mock orange.

A few years ago I noticed this shrub in the wild strip of common ground behind my yard. Growing among the evil bush honeysuckle was something that produced sweet-smelling beautiful white flowers.

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A little time on the Internet and I discovered that this is a mock orange (I think Philadelphus coronarius). Incidentally, it's amazing how easy it is to find plant info using Google and very simple search terms like "white-flowered shrub".

I didn't plant this, and it's not thriving because it's pretty heavily shaded, but it's still nice to have back here. I mulched back here two years ago which made it look pretty nice and helped to keep down the weeds. In that process I noticed that this seems to spread a little bit, so I yanked up one of the "sucker" plants.

It had a pretty good root mass on it, so instead of putting it in the compost pile I planted it in a sunnier section of this same area. It's only a couple of feet tall, but it's still alive. I think next year I'll be able to compare it to the parent plant and see if more sun results in more flowers or more compact growth.

Next up: One weed. I've walked past this dandelion for a few weeks now, and never pulled it.

It's really amazing what the removal of just a single weed or two can do to the look of a bed.

It can go from looking unkempt and, well, "weedy", to well-cared for and harmonious with just a single pull. (Yes there are some other small weeds there, but you don't even notice them now that the main offender is gone.) So the lesson is: don't worry about every weed -- pull the most-visible ones and your beds will look pretty good all the time.

Here's another interesting tidbit: an oak seedling:

I think it's really amazing how some tree seeds don't need to be buried. When they germinate ("sprout") they push their roots down into the ground, and everything grows from that.

This is a really cool look at something I don't usually pay attention to.

Finally...

Cats really love bamboo. I don't know what it is that attracts them to it -- maybe the same qualities that attracts gardeners like me to it.

Whatever it is that cats see in it, I love this plant too! I think it's time I created more posts about bamboo.