I like to grow a few things that are different. Meet Loropetalum “Fire Dance” – a variety of Chinese witchhazel.
The first thing to hit you is the pungent pink of the small strappy petals. The second thing to hit you is the VERY pungent pink… They are not subtle, not at all. Flowering is steady, with the flowers standing out against the bronze/coppery leaves. There is a “light fragrance.” And they’re PINK.
I decided to describe it with words I might use to boast to other gardeners: Pink, Brash, Exotic, Unusual, Worth a Second Look, Spectacular. It seemed proper to match the print colour to the petals. Yep, it’s PINK. Almost magenta, not a pastel shade. It’s quite deliberately in your face. I’m very proud of its bold beauty.
Quite why I should feel proud is a mystery! I bought the shrub, and had no part in breeding its current form. I didn’t travel to the Chinese woodlands where they grow wild. I didn’t submit a blueprint to Mother Nature. I didn’t ask God to create me a special showy shrub so I can show off.
I just enjoy it.
I rather think God enjoys Loropetalum “Fire Dance” as well.
I don’t want to engage in ascerbic conversations about evolution or intelligent design. None of us were “there” in the Beginning. The “Book of Beginnings” is not a publication of the Royal Horticultural Society, nor a dry dusty scientific textbook.
In the Beginning… God spoke. Creation became to BE, and Life was called into Being. At various points in the narrative, God said “It is good.” In fact God said “It is VERY good.”
So that’s enough for me. And I’m rather thrilled that “Fire Dance” was included as part of the unfolding story of the Creator who sustains all things and is redeeming all things. Worth a second look, indeed.
Look, See, Pray 