Sometimes It's the Small Things That Stand Out

That was some snow storm today. It was so bright and sunny out that I had to go outside and putz around in the back yard. I did a little clean up work and was ready to head back inside when I noticed these tiny little cones on the tree we bought last fall. 

The tree is in a container up on a low wall, it serves as a break from the monotony of white that the fence provides. As I was looking at it I thought,  'great, I will never remember the name of this tree'. I turned the pot a little and discovered that I had never removed the tag. 


I took a photo and placed the tag in the pot.  This led me to wonder why in all my life I've never photographed the plant and the tag when I first buy it.  I have tags strewn all over the house and in the garage with no way of ever locating them when I need to. 





The tree is a Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria. J. 'Black Dragon'). We attended a class at Portland Nursery last fall and did a little shopping afterward. It stood out because of it's dark green color and spiky branches. Today was the first time I had seen the cones, which are so tiny I just had to take a picture.  




Of course this got me looking a bit closer at all my plants and it was fun to use the macro setting on my camera and get some more close up shots.


I was happy to find my first bulb blossoming.  It is a tiny crocus in a pot I'd planted over a year ago.  I'd stashed the pot out of the way and didn't remember it still had bulbs.

The biggest surprise to me, is a set of 3 plants I used in containers last year.  (Their name is located on one of the tags I mentioned earlier, I have no idea the name or the location of the tag). I had intended to transplant them to my mom's yard last fall, but never got around to it.  I figured I would be throwing them out by now, but they are all growing, and the one I left in the hanging basket with coconut husk is now blooming.