FOUND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is OFFICIAL, I AM that crazy old lady who calls up a hotel to find out what plant that is that is planted just outside of the front entrance! MANY, MANY, thanks to Larry at the Bell Hop desk at the Washington Duke Resort in Durham, North Carolina. I was there yesterday for a family brunch, and upon leaving the Resort, THERE it was. MY mystery plant.

I first encountered this little number in Topsail, North Carolina, a few years back while on vacation. I "borrowed" a number of leaves and they stayed alive for over 6 months in a pitcher of water in my studio. I created a number of bowls and GIGANTIC serving trays using these fabulous leaves, but I could not determine what it was.

Mystery solved! It is a Fatsia. A Japaneese evergreen shrub that may actually tollerate being planted in Virginia. I am going to contact my local landscaping buddy to see if she can get me a Fatsia of my very OWN.

What a way to welcome Spring!

Thanks to Larry, thanks to my local extension office, thanks in advance to my secret landscape buddy, thanks to everyone who contacted me trying to help me identify this leaf, and mostly, thanks to my husband who has put up with my QUEST to FIND THAT LEAF for the past 3 years.

I am at peace, finally.