stock photo
Most years for our anniversary, I get us a plant. Usually a nicer shrub or tree that Libby has been wanting. Most years I know what I am looking for because I can recall something specific Libby has talked about. This year I hadn't a clue. With Calvin tagging along I went to the little nursery here in Black Mountain. After some hemming and hawing, and making the staff hang around after the announced closing time, I picked up a witchazel, a beautyberry, and a Carolina silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera {Halesia carolina}). There 's not much to the silverbell (nor any of them for that matter), but I was told it was indigenous to our area.
what we saw while walking
As luck would have it, Libby spotted one beside the trail as we hiked in Ridgecrest yesterday. It was gratifying for us both, that these do exist in the wild, and that ours has potential.
our specimen
