A tiny daphne (Daphne x napolitana ‘Stasek’, below) is flowering in early February in a crevice between granite boulders in the small rock garden. Until a few days ago, this was covered by snow, and today, I saw the flowers only by pushing aside the browned foliage of a vigorous pennstemon.

The two plants were poorly chosen as neighbors for the short term, but now that the daphne has survived two years, mostly hidden, perhaps I’ll carve out a section of the pennstemon to encourage more growth. Certainly, I won’t try to move the daphne. They’re finicky in ideal conditions, and trying to extract the roots between the boulders would be difficult. Within a few years, the daphne could gain enough size to coexist with the pennstemon.

The rock garden (above) continues to be a learning experience. Most of the plants are new to me, at least in the garden, so I’m continuing to figure which ones will tolerate our warm summer nights and regular rainfall, though last summer suffered from extended periods with little or no rain. The trial and error has wasted a few dollars, but I’m intrigued by this addition to the garden and wish there was space to expand.