Native Plant Sale

I went to the fall native plant sale this weekend at Morningside Nature Center with my parents. I bought a mimosa plant, aka Powderpuff (the groundcover, not the exotic invasive tree) to replace the one I killed last year. I love its puffy pink flowers and fern-like foliage.

I also got a passion flower. Passion flower makes me feel giddy inside. Seriously. I think it's the most beautiful flower I have ever seen--it's over-the-top with different textures, bright colors (purple!), and this wild fringe, all calling out exotically to potential pollinators--and I catch my breath every time I see one. Now I have my own! It's a vine that dies back in the winter, so spring will be exciting for me. You know--it's the little things.

Here's a photo of a passion flower that Kim took:


After I paid for the plants, this student-looking guy asked me a couple of questions for a Native Plant Society survey. "Have you been here before?" "Yes." "And how did you hear about the sale? Did you see an ad?" "Uh...I just know about it. It's on my calendar." All of a sudden it became terribly clear to me--I've become a plant dork! When did this happen?!

(So much for giving the blog a temporary rest.)