Monday, February 28, 2011

Persistence

Unusually cold weather and excessive rain have not deterred all of the abutilon in my garden from blooming profusely this month. It is sometimes called 'Flowering Maple' because of the charming maple leaf shaped foliage as well as the 'Chinese Lantern' plant because of the paper-like blooms that hang daintily from the stems. If that is not enough to make you love this shrub, it is a big hummingbird magnet too! Like most of us, it prefers partial or dappled shade. In my garden it blooms for most of the winter and spring. Lovely!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Love the foliage on this shrub! And I am ridiculously jealous of any blooms this time of year. Thanks for posting!