What the Heck Is That Plant?

A few years back – it must be at least five – I was invited to speak at a day-long gardening conference put on by the Master Gardeners of Clatsop County, Oregon. One of the special delights of that day was exploring the plants and other garden items offered for sale by local nurseries. Even more fun, the Master Gardeners themselves put on a fund-raising plant sale, using plants contributed by members from their own gardens. Most had done a superb job of labeling the plants and providing information on how to grow them successfully.  But over in a corner, neglected and lonely, I found a tiny little thing identified only as “unknown.” It looks like — and may actually be–asparagus fern, but all we know for sure is that it is “unknown.”  But the color was a gorgeous lime green and the mystery of it all was just irresistible. So I bought it. It has grown patiently and faithfully over the years, and tolerates the erratic watering I am able to provide. And then, lo and behold last month it started to bloom. Now I have a cloud of fluffy ferny foliage sprinkled with tiny white flowers, like bells for fairies.  It makes me smile every time I look at it, and what more could you ask from any plant?