Aloha! ...And other stuff

So, I am blogging today from beautiful, warm Honolulu, Hawaii.

I am here on a job until the end of next week. So my blog posts may be a bit spare. I had every good intention of blogging while here, but the first work day was pretty busy and I suspect that won't change. So, forgive me for a thin site this week.

But, before I go completely on hiatus, a few shots from Central Park, as of last week.

First up, Rhodotypos scandens, or jetbead.




Jetbead is one of those plants you never notice until it's blooming. It's a small, nondescript shrub with attractive jade-green foliage. But when it blooms, it's quite lovely. It used to be called white kerria, as the foliage resembles Kerria japonica but most people know it as jetbead now, named such for its black persistent berries. Rhodotypos is native to Japan and China and is invasive.



Another beauty in bloom right now is Halesia tetraptera or Carolina silverbell.



It's easy enough to discern why it's called silverbell; the lovely white blossoms hang like little bells. The seed pods are why it's given the species name tetraptera which literally means four-winged since the seed pods look like little starfruit.


This one below is a gorgeous mature specimen just northeast of the Central Park Bandshell.

That's it for now. I hope to tweet some photos from Hawaii this week so please follow me at twitter.com/jhornlandscape! If you don't well, then I will certainly have a wealth of blogworthy photos for when I'm back.