Summer Snowballs

Day 224: After a friend posted a photo of her snowball bush (Viburnum opulus), I was reminded that I've intended to plant one for as long as I've lived here. Being at a higher altitude than much of western Washington means that I am in a different Plant Hardiness Zone than the lowlands, so invariably, by the time I'm ready to plant, the stores have sold out of many things. I've made a few attempts to find a snowball bush, but with no success. Since Gordon's Garden Center was on my way home yesterday, I decided to stop. Yes, they had some...no, excuse me...looks like somebody bought the last ones. Thwarted again, I just sighed and moved along. Then I remembered Gartenmeister near South Hill. They've supplied me with a number of "grandma's garden" species in the past. I didn't have their number in my stupid (as opposed to smart) phone, nor did I have their card in the car. I decided to take a chance, and embarked on a rather substantial detour from my route. They had two left! Both were in two-gallon pots, exactly the size I'd been hoping to find. This one followed me home, accompanied by a "Red Heart" Rose-of-Sharon.

When I moved into this house, the only landscaping was the yew hedge, the Whatzit Tree (unidentified, now deceased) and a straggly lilac. Now the yard features several sizeable trees (Harry Lauder, a red dogwood, a Japanese maple, mountain ash, pussywillow, Philadelphus), some young ones which will grow to a good height (Golden Chain, horse chestnut), many smaller shrubs and flower beds galore. There is colour in every season, shade against the summer sun, food for pollinators, habitat for birds. Like my flower beds, the yard has no formal design, no long-term vision. If there's a hole, I fill it with something which will benefit wildlife and please my eye. That's good enough for me.