Dear Reader:

I have to admit when I stopped by one of the Summerville nurseries in the midst of decorating the porch for Christmas I was looking for more ‘Christmasy plants’ than the owner’s recommended two dwarf “Firepower” nandinas. (*I mean these are just ordinary plants that turn into bushes that I remember seeing everywhere as a child growing up in North Carolina…a dime a dozen. I seemed to remember that everyone had them because they were inexpensive, easy to plant and maintain, pretty….all in all very cost effective.

The owner must have sensed my ‘less than overwhelmed’ expression when she suggested the dwarf plants for the bench. She hurriedly went on to tell me as they got more sun the color of the leaves would turn into a dark red brilliant color like a “Moses” bush. And the cold weather actually made them turn faster… I would be pleased since I could plant them elsewhere after Christmas.

I is well after Christmas and we have definitely had roller coaster temperatures throughout December and January. She was right, however, I love the ‘firepower’ dwarf nandinas. They do love the cold and sun…the few plants that I don’t have to cover up or drag in and out as these crazy weather fronts come through. Up and down, up and down.

It was late afternoon when I took this picture of the nandinas yesterday surrounding “Little Big Red” on the white bench. The slanting rays of the sun were only hitting the right side of the bench…apparently this happens daily. Sure enough…the right nandina is a brilliant shade of red while the nandina that gets more shade (on the left) is slightly more subtle and is mixed colored with green leaves.

Yesterday was the first day “Little Big Red” had been back on the bench ( Due to the freezing temps over night he has been inside the house on the other side.) He was so happy to be basking again in his favorite place in the world…the white bench! Chelsey counted several buds springing up …by Valentines “Little Big Red” might have some red surprises for us. He is definitely a “chip off the old block.”

After I came in from watering all the plants on the porch including the poinsettias (still so beautiful)…I thought again about the difference between the two nandina plants and how the proximity to the sunlight makes such a difference in living things….and not just plants.

When I am filling up “Surcie” at one of the gas stations near my house I often think longingly of the ‘good old days’ when a person didn’t have to fill up their own tank and wash their windshields and check the oil and other lubricants…it was all done for us. Sigh! Thank goodness for mother’s sake all that was offered to her in her day…she would never have been able to  drive today and do that herself…at least not without stress and difficulty.

When I came across this excerpt it really took me back down memory lane.  (Huffington Post/Glen Beck/”The Media of the Future.”)