[Henryk]

This weekend, Robert and I attended our niece’s wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a wonderful event in a beautiful setting with a marvelous view of the ocean.

We decided to drive around and see what is to see. The houses, and the mansions in particular, were marvelous to see. Think The Great Gatsby. But stealing the scene on block after block were the beautify plantings, trees, shrubs, etc.

Across the street from our hotel there were perhaps 10,000 daffodils on about a half-acre. Most likely they are “King Alfred” variety. Breathtaking.

Then around town, variously, andromeda (pieris japonica) that is possibly my favorite plant ever, being beautiful at all seasons of growth.

Then the trees: gorgeous specimens of Crabtrees, weeping under their own weight. Japanese cherries pretty in pink.

PJM rhododendrons six feet tall in their unusual purple-pink color. Forsythia! Daffodils everywhere! (They much be RI’s state flower!). Swaths of grape hydrangea in dark purple. Tulips! Magnolias!

I truly miss the New England spring.