Song of the South- Palmetto fronds, Spanish moss, fern, flowers, butterfly weed, tangerine

Saint Simons Island, Georgia, 2020

I have always loved the lowly palmetto plant that most southern gardeners see as a scrubby invasive. It is the state plant of South Carolina. I cut the fronds from a wildly out of control plant at the back of our condo building. Spanish Moss, an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon larger trees in tropical and subtropical climates, is everywhere in Saint Simons and it gives even the most mundane landscape a hint of mystery and exoticism. Epiphytic plants grow on another plant and depend on it for support but not food. Epiphytes get moisture and nutrients from the air or from small pools of water that collect on the host plant (Wikipedia). This Spanish moss was collected from our parking lot. Butterfly weed grows readily in Saint Simons but it is quite a bit taller than the Massachusetts version and the stems are woody. So inspiring to have such beautiful materials on hand.