For Reals

Many, many years ago... can't remember exactly how long, but most likely before our firstborn... a friend from church gave us a sad little root-bound shrub that her nursery-owning father was going to throw out.

She told us it was called a Glory Bower.

We kept expecting it to die. But it grew, slowly but surely, and now is taking leaps and bounds each Spring.

We never did much research on it, just waited to see what it would do.

A few years ago, it put out its first blooms, pretty little white pods that opened into fragrant starburst blooms.

That was the year we noticed that the leaves smell like Peanut Butter.

And this year we spotted something new.

This.

For reals... I did nothing to re-touch these photos.

Have you ever seen such a combination of colors? Other than in some tropical climate, I mean? This is the Pacific Northwest, after all.

Right now, at the onset of the season of bleak colors, to see such vibrance is absolutely delightful.

It took a long time, but this fabulous shrub is certainly living up to its name.

Read more about it here.