Nature Contained

When visitors arrive at the shop in August, they are greeted by our gorgeous full-figured buddleja, Lucia. Rumor on the street is that she has been there 18 years and has not been pruned to this day. I can only confirm that she has not been pruned over the past two years. Just a little deadhead here and there to keep her blooming, but that’s about it. A large windstorm in October shook her up a bit last fall, but hey, she survived Hurricane Bob in 1991, though she probably was much smaller and a bit more flexible in her youth.

Everyone loves Lucia. The bees, the butterflies, the occasional finch and the hummingbird moths all mingle nicely throughout the day. I was lucky enough to get this photo of the hummingbird moth, macroglossum stellatarum in action!