Hidden Wonders

Photo and description by Jill Jasuta

On our first visit to the Delaware Botanic Gardens just outside of Dagsboro, my husband and I were treated to a visual feast of color, shape, and texture. As we wandered the 37 acres of gardens, meadows and woodland trails, my senses buzzed with excitement. I had just started experimenting with a dedicated macro lens for close-up photography, and the gardens offered not just beautiful sweeping landscapes, but also an astonishingly intricate world hidden in plain sight.

In the half-acre Rhyne Garden, a collection of native ninebark shrubs—a plant I had never encountered before—had me entranced. The rich, dark foliage created a dramatic backdrop to the clusters of pink buds ready to open. Then, a flash of bright spring green caught my eye: a caterpillar, perfectly curled, was enjoying its own garden feast. I later learned these shrubs are a food source for several moth species—just one example of the garden’s subtle, thriving ecosystems revealed through a closer look. CS