EARLY APPLES ARE RIPE
VARIEGATED DOGWOOD LEAVES
VARIEGATED DOGWOOD SHRUBMonday, 7;45 AM. 72 degrees, humidity 68 %, wind W, calm. The sky is clear but hazy and it will be another hot day.
I have just finished reading “Jefferson and Monticello,” by Jack McLaughlin, an analysis of Thomas Jefferson as architect and builder, rather than as politician and philosopher. It is a very good read. It took Jefferson virtually a lifetime to complete his masterpiece, and Monticello exemplifies his conflicted, compulsive personality. He built and rebuilt, all the while contracting ruinous debt. For all his vaunted rationality, he was not very rational. He was, after all, the man who could write “All men are created equal…” and yet could not bring himself to free his many slaves, even in death, as did Washington. And yet, if we were all judged by what we do, rather than by what we believe, most of us would not come off very well either. In the final analysis I can only view Monticello as the quintessential “money pit,” and Jefferson as a failed, if gifted, builder. From a very practical standpoint, it is a cautionary tale for anyone who ever fell in love with a house.
In general I do not care for variegated trees and shrubs, they are too unnatural, but the variegated dogwoods are pretty, and used as a foil for a particular architectural style or color scheme can be quite effective.
The earliest apples are ripe.
Can you tell me if the variegated dogwood is native to the U.S.? Or is it from Asia? The rEason I ask is that I am trying to only plant things that are native to my area, which is Missouri. Or at least native to the Midwest. I have several variegated dogwoods and am wondering if I should replace them with something else that would bring the local pollinators.
ReplyDeletethey are usually Asian. Variegation is seldom selected naturally as it reduces pohotosenthysis.
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