ode to perennials

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This summer, I am taking a food science course about food controversies in our contemporary culture. It fits right in with my undergraduate minor in family & consumer science, and of course, food is a topic I am always interested in discussing and learning about. Taking this class means a two mile bike ride to the agriculture campus Monday through Thursday, and when I hop off my bike to lock it up, I find myself standing between beds of a beautiful, sprawling, perennial garden. You see, the food science building is next to the horticulture building. And I happen to think plants are fascinating, so of course I am drawn to this gem of a plant sanctuary which I see four times a week. Yesterday after my class, I ate lunch at one of the picnic tables in the garden, and afterward, took a walk around to photograph it. One thing I love is that since it is an educational garden, every plant is labeled. I also like knowing that they are all perennials, because lately I have been thinking of getting some decorative perennials and keeping them in pots, and this garden has given me some good ideas. I was particularly struck by the beauty of the cone flowers. So today, while picking up some things at the hardware store, I spontaneously bought a white coneflower plant and when I got home, potted it in the container I had purchased for the raspberry plant (it died, sigh).


And there it is. Those aren't all the way in bloom yet. When they are, they'll look like the first photograph.

And speaking of flowers, my zinnias are budding!