Garden Therapy

 I have been feeling kind of low lately. I know that it is up to me to do something about that. 

Sunday morning was cold and gray but it was dry. The Hellebores were starting to bloom in my garden so I thought they would also be opening in the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden a few miles from our house. I asked Tom to take me there. 

I wondered if the Edgeworthia by the gate might be blooming yet. It was!

It's a strange shrub, with thick stems, and no leaves when it blooms in late winter, but with an incredible fragrance.

The Silk Tassel Tree was blooming too, on the other side of the gate. I have never been very impressed by this shrub but up close the chain of flowers is interesting, and it blooms early. 

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Pieris Japonica shrubs are starting to open their little bell shaped flowers. 

So are the very fragrant early Viburnums. 

And yes, we found hellebores! Since most varieties don't hold up their heads, they need help showing their beautiful faces. 

An early rhododendron. 

Winder blooming Mahonia (Oregon Grape)

The hellebores were just beginning to open. They will be wonderful in a couple of weeks, after this next cold spell. 

A lovely double. 

These are wild hazelnut catkins, the male, pollen producing flowers of the tree. 

We learned something from a blog friend last week that we had a chance to check out for ourselves here in the garden. See that tiny reddish bud at the top of those catkins? That is a female flower bud. 

Tom found one blooming! Cool, huh?

For my entire life, always living with these trees around, I never knew about these tiny flowers. 

These are the fuzzy buds of a magnolia. 

So happy to be here, I managed to walk around most of the several acres of garden, including around the serene Japanese Garden. 

No climbing up narrow paths or teetering on stone bridges for me now,

but holding Tom's hand I was happy to climb these lovely stone steps as we made our way out of the garden to return home, just as the rain was beginning to fall. 

Not only was visiting the garden yesterday good therapy, but now sharing it with you has worked it's magic all over again.