Spring melt: a Triptych

at the Guelph Arboretum today. March 10th.

Rhodie

 

 

A beautiful dog.  March 10th.

hoya, oh yeah!

This is the bloom on a Hoya plant. Three years ago, we were given a cutting from a close friend who has had these plants for decades. This cluster of  at least seven flowers was hidden under a mass of dark green, thick, waxy leaves. The flower itself looks fake and plasticky, with a gelatinous film on the smaller star and has the subtle fragrance of sweet chocolate. The hoya plant is a notoriously rare bloomer, with anywhere from 2-20 years between blooms. It rarely needs tending, and the less disturbed (or just moved) it is, the better. Some people haven't moved their plant from a specific location in decades!

Some accounts of Hoya plant owners here.

Spring...Rebirth...New Beginnings

I find this short video by Pavel Efremov to be pregnant with hope and filled with optimism in a world poisoned by materialism and drowning in noise,  consumed by hate and selfishness. In this video I can smell the black earth, the mulch, and the morel, and taste the morning dew; I can hear the bees and the wind in the trees, and I can feel the baby's skin. Above all else, I can sense a balance with man and nature. 

Hot Peppers

 

 

Colourful exteriors and fiery interiors. March 7th.