Never say never; my favorite plant in the garden this week…

Have you ever found yourself stunned when your Google search results remind you of something you’ve completely forgotten? Something you wrote? It happened to me when I was writing this post. I Googled the name of this week’s “favorite plant” and there in the search results was a link to my recent blog post about a visit to Cistus Nursery. I wrote: “Anyone care to make a prediction how much longer I'm in the "don't care for epimediums" camp? (no my resolve isn't slipping, except for that ultra sexy Epimedium wushanense I saw at last years HPSO plant sale).” I completely forgot I’d recently referenced that plant, but in the way the universe has of coming ‘round full circle Epimedium wushanense is my favorite plant in the garden this week (ok no it’s not actually planted yet, don’t be a nitpicker).

I have it because it was a gift from Sean Hogan (of Cistus Nursery)…who upon giving it to me said something along the lines of “if you’re going to give a person a plant why not give them one they hate” referring of course to my stated dislike of epimediums, however naturally he found the one (spiky one!) that I love…

So yes, this confirmed disliker (hater seemed too strong a word) of the epimedium has now joined the ranks of those who appreciate them, at least this one…look at those leaves…the marvelous little spikes…

The color splotches…

And I suppose the flowers aren’t bad either…

The stats:

• Evergreen to 18-24” tall
• Likes average to moist soil in shade to part sun
• Blooms in the spring, yellow flowers
• Hardy to zone 5, at least

Here’s another interesting Google search result. Back when Alan asked what size of monkeys I expected to be swinging from my newly installed trellis I Googled "Mandrill" (one of his options) to make sure I was thinking of the right animal. Here are my results...

It turns out our dog Lila (first photo in the upper left) is actually a Mandrill monkey! I do see the resemblance...

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