Whenever I walk down the road, my eyes are always scanning the ditch banks and the fields for things I may have missed on earlier walks. I discovered an apple tree - with apples! - earlier this summer that I couldn't believe I'd not noticed before. No matter how observant I think I might be, it seems there's always something new to see.
And don't you know? We were no more than half a mile from home and I noticed a small tree growing on the ditch bank with some deep pink seed pods that looked strangely familiar, yet I'd not seen them there before. Hmmm... just where had I seen them? And then it came to me.
Yesterday, I was reading a blog post by Cheryl (My Wildlife Sanctuary), who lives in the U.K. She had been out on a walk too, and had seen some deep pink seed pods and wondered what they were. She had never seen them before either. Gail (Clay and Limestone) popped in to identify the pods, although she said Frances (FaireGarden) deserved the credit for the ID.
And you doubted the power of garden blogging??
Cheryl's mystery tree was Spindle Tree (Euonymus europaeus), and since I'm not in Europe where this is native, I thought it might be unlikely this is what the tree is that's growing in our ditch. But this has been introduced to the U.S. and it has become invasive in some areas. I saw five small trees scattered along the ditch bank.
Its American native counterpart could be American Spindle Tree (Euonymus americanus) or Eastern Wahoo (Euonymus atropupurea), both common in our part of the country, but the seed pods vary a bit in color and texture.
How many times has that happened to you? You've never seen or heard about a certain thing before, then you do, and within a short time you encounter it yourself. There has to be a name for such an occurrence. Is there?
"Bejeweled"
8 comments:
No matter what you call it it has happened to me before too. It is amazing how when you go back to the same place time after time there is always something of interest there.
This is what I love so much about garden bloggers (and also coincidentally mentioned today in my post)--we see new things, are inspired by nature and share with each other. It's great to get to see the world through the eyes of garden bloggers.
Cameron
wonderful to have so many garden bloggers from all over the world.
It always amazes me. Post a photo of some plant or tree you don't know the name of. And within hours someone names it. The power of the internet.
Brenda
There's always something new to see, isn't there? Yes, that's happened to me too :)
Garden blogging is such a wonderful way to find answers to our questions and GBloggers are always eager to help. This sharing is all part of what makes being part of this community such fun!
It's difficult to come up with a word that fits the bill, but yes, I've had that happen to me and gloated to anyone around me that I knew the name of the found plant because I'd just read about it. :) Coincidence? Happenstance? I think your 'serendipity' fits as well as anything.
Far be it from me to doubt the power of garden blogging. ;-) Gorgeous seed pods and in my favourite colour too.
Hi Kylee, funny thing about that tree, I had posted that it was the E. americana, hearts a bustin', when one of the UK bloggers gave me the correct ID! I had seen the real americana at Gail's house and knew mine was different. It is a fabulous plant in my garden, the fall foliage is brilliant. Thanks for the link love and keeping this circle spinning around!
Frances
Post a Comment