Hello in there!

I ventured out of my house yesterday. Hardly ever do that anymore. But it felt good. A little scary! The sun peaked through the trees and shone in my eyes, a cold breeze came through the car. I felt good. 

My main reason was to go for birdseed and something for the squirrel. We have a virtual zoo in the backyard. I think we are the only people in our neighborhood feeding them. Bri has a whole set-up in the front yard and we have one in the back. I spent $100's at ACE hardware... always feels good to support our local businesses. This little guy was caught on the bird cam ... I thought I heard him say ... hey, hello in there ... do you guys know we need food out here?

 The Camilla next door has it's bud set to bloom soon! And very very soon the Sweet Box, Sarcococca will bloom and the entire yard will smell so sweet. We have them planted all over the front yard now too. If you do not have a couple of these in your yard, you should!

 

The flowers may go unnoticed as they are rather small and hidden amongst dark glossy leaves, but their scent will grab you. On sunny winter days (yes we do have some of those in Portland) the sweet fragrance they are named for fills the air.

Sweet smelling flowers are enough to make us love a plant forever, but Sarcococca keeps on giving. It’s dark, glossy, evergreen leaves, bird-attracting berries, comfort in shady gardens (even in dry shade!) and pest-free nature clinch the deal. We’re all in.

White flowers in January, red berries in fall turn black. Grows 3-5’ x 3-5’ if left alone but it can easily be pruned into a lower hedge (see below). Shade-part shade, Z7 (0-10f).