september's sedum

I don't think I would have suggested a mass planting of 'Autumn Joy' Sedum in this spot at Sarah Duke Gardens.I would be too afraid that someone would walk through the fleshy stalks and succulent stems on a shortcut to the duck pond. But that hasn't happened in the two or three summers since this bed was planted. And it looks killer.

 It also helps that the staff and/or interns made an attractive edging from spliced bamboo. Sometimes just a  suggested barrier is good enough to keep people on the right paths.

I've noticed that this variety of sedum (although easy to break with a shoe or a frisbee) is a strong spreader in most gardens. It also blooms in some shade. I've planted mine under a limbed-up wax myrtle tree that sits close to where my 70lb dog  likes to stick her nose through the perennial border. But even with canine curiousity nudging around its edges, my clump of 'Autumn Joy' sedum has grown large enough that I think I can rest easy.

late april pics: from the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum

There are many more pictures I could show from this wonderful section of the Sarah Duke Gardens but I don't always have my camera handy. And the trouble is, sometimes when I don't have my camera I tend to relax and enjoy my hike even more. Often I see a picture before long before I end up taking it- like this Chinese fringe tree. Its showy white blooms are more attention-grabbing than our native version. Not that I don't like natives. I am just calling it like I see it.
The second picture is of young winter hazel leaves (Corylopsis spicata). I really wish I had taken some shots of the blooms from a couple of months ago. Like it's relative the witch hazel, it is blooms on bare wood. I  am not a botanist so don't hold me to any taxonomical quotes on this witch hazel/winter hazel relationship.....I don't have time to wiki it, (or better yet, break out the Hortus III).