Singin' the Blues

My two sisters and I have a few favorite garden rituals. One of them is the annual trek to Whitney Gardens, one of our favorite nurseries. They specialize in rhododendrons and azaleas. The day begins with a stop at Starbucks for pumpkin scones and our favorite coffee drinks, which we enjoy while sitting in line for the ferry. An hour's drive and we are immersed in the acres of rhododendrons, some towering twenty or more feet above our heads. The ritual includes a walkthrough of the "color houses" where many of their smaller plants are sorted by color, as well as the fields where the larger plants are planted in long rows, waiting for adoption.

On this trip I took a moment to wander over to the conifer area. I've developed a new fascination with dwarf conifers after discovering a garden blog called The Amazing World of Conifers . I wasn't expecting to see anything new since I'd been there just a month earlier. Even so, I was completely enjoying the newly emerging buds, candles, and the occasional puff of pollen as the breeze came through. Suddenly, something very blue caught my eye. It was almost buried in a row of "old man trees", as I call them. I had to see.

There it was, the blue beauty I thought I would never find. For several months I've been searching online for a Picea pungens 'The Blues', a dwarf weeping variety of blue spruce. All searches had proved fruitless. I knew one propagator that had them as small grafts, but I would never live long enough to see it grow up. Here it was, full size, just waiting. Of course it became mine at that moment, and it's been singing to me, drawing me out of my busyness to come listen. I can't recognize the music yet. It must be a new song I have yet to learn.


 





Picea pungens 'Ruby Teardrops'

Another part of the Whitney Gardens ritual is a stop at a small nursery "on the way" called Savage Plants. This nursery is very small and very artistic, more like a landscaper's paradise. Today we can't shop because the car is completely full. And yet, another jewel is waiting for discovery, like hidden treasure. What is this lovely thing? The tag says "Ruby Teardrops" and it means it! A small blue conifer with red buds on the tips of the branches. And these are not your small red cones, like Acrocona. These are boisterous, almost blatant, red tips that cannot be missed, that threaten to cover and overwhelm. Needless to say, it rode home on my lap.

I love surprises, and these joys just remind me of God's lavish and boisterous love for us. His Word says He is a loving Father that loves to give gifts to His children. I'm so glad I'm His!