My coworker Jeremey DuVall wrote recently about adventuring. Specifically, he wrote about taking more microadventures: little adventures taken at little cost, that take you out of your normal routine, and can be done in your own back yard or your own small town.
I took his advice today. For my birthday, my son gave me a book on butterfly gardening with native plants, and now I’ve been bitten hard by the gardening bug. With a naked lawn — a blank slate — I decided I wanted to go find some ideas. So in the early morning, before the tailgaters were out for the big game tomorrow, I packed a water bottle, my real camera, and a Luna bar; slathered on sunscreen and donned a baseball cap; strapped on my day-pack; and I walked across town, across the Virginia Tech campus, to the University’s horticulture garden.
And boy did I find ideas. Now I want a butterfly garden, an herb garden, a woodland garden, a meadow garden, a waterfall, a pond with lily pads, and much, much more.
I would also like to identify the plant in the images below. Its fragrance drew me across the entire garden, and I want one. If you know what this is, please let me know!
I think my next microadventure might be a trip to the nursery.

21 responses to “Hahn Horticulture Garden: a Microadventure”
Beautiful! Those look like butterfly bushes, also known as buddleias. x
Sounds like a lovely walk that filled you with inspiration!
Your slideshow is very effective. Nice post!
GROW ALL THE THINGS! β€
I’m pretty sure the flowers are Daphne
It’s amazing
Daphne for sure – I had the same thing happen to me.
The plant shown in the second photo is called Abelia grandiflora nana. π
Wonderful photos!
Could the plant with the white flowers be jasmine? It was my first thought, and some of the pictures google comes up with look like it.
Love your photos! Also, the plant that you are asking for ID on is Abelia grandiflora x nana. π
That’s it! Thank you so much!
Your welcome π
I think it is abΓ©lia.
I love the idea of having micro adventures. What a wonderful idea. This is a beautiful blog and I love your pictures too. Thank you
I love the pictures
Lovely. The Hahn Horticulture Garden is a beautiful place.
These pictures are so awesome, I must ask the most unwanted question, what camera did you use? π
Haha! I used a Nikon d50 dslr.
Fun! Gardening is such a great way to spend time! Currently I cannot have a *real* garden (sigh) so I am content with some potted herbs and a few flowers. My geraniums are really struggling, but I have some great herbs that I am using fresh and also drying for winter. I definitely recommend establishing an herb garden. It is well worth the time. Good luck!
Aw this is such an amazing post and I love the photos to go with it!
This post gained you a follower π
Not only did it earn my followship (is that a thing?!) but you also inspired me and I absoloutly adore your blog!! Please check out mine;
https://fayesfashion.wordpress.com