Seen, Noted and Photographed

I am smitten. 

This is not a love affair that my husband of twenty-odd years has to worry about though. I have fallen head over heals in love with native plants.

I must admit that, in the past, I have always taken native plants somewhat for granted. 

Sure, I admired them along the roadside and in fields of summer blooms, but I never gave them much thought... 

or considered them as serious candidates worthy of inclusion in my garden. 

Generally speaking, they were the plants I pulled out of the garden, not anything I would ever want to put in it.

So what changed?

I opened up my mind, and my eyes, and really took a look at what was there all along, just waiting for me to notice.

For this I have other bloggers to thank, in particularly Janet, Rose, Lona and Marguerite. I admired their sense of discovery and their enthusiasm for native plants.

I began to wonder what was out there just beyond my own garden. And so I spent the spring, summer and fall really looking for the first time.

I sloshed through spring muck. 

I wadded into tall grass (with a minor degree of trepidation I might add). 

I got down on my hands and knees and was amazed and charmed by what I found.

Last summer, when the grass had all but packed it in this tiny little yellow flower (above) dotted the landscape with islands of green and yellow sunshine.

The blooms were often delicate, but make no mistake, these were plants were tough; growing in the worst types of soil, and often with very little water.

I am almost ashamed to admit that I don't know half their names, or if they are annuals or perennials. 

Sadly, I know more about plants from Europe or Asia, than I do about the plants native to my own country.

After I spent the summer and fall admiring them, I found that I wanted to know more about native plants, so I started reading.

I also began to wonder what a garden composed primarily of native plants would look like. 

Would it be untidy? Not necessarily. Not if it was done well.

I have more to say about native plants and lots of pictures to share, but for today I will content myself with passing on what has been given to me: a remarkable sense of wonder and a fresh sense of appreciation for all native plants.