Its Just That Time of Year....

The last of July always turns a small corner in the gardener's calendar, waiting for an even greater shift in mid-August. You have to look carefully when you live in the woods as I do, as things can seem monochromatic and even monotonous. But the other day I spotted a couple of scarlett leaves on the sasafrass shrubs that told me that time was marching on. Then quick glances at the rhrododendrons informed me that they had already set next May's blooms, and it promises to be another banner year of bloom. Its easy for them to get confused in our False Spring which comes just after the first big cold spell...usually in late November or early December. I have seen them blooming away around Christmas, doomed to an early death. Our rains this summer come in patches, just enough to stave off absolute drought, but we have lived on the edge the past few years. I nursed a pansy redbud for four years until it kicked the bucket last winter. I cut it down and went my merry way. In June I noticed an unusual purple-green bush growing in the same spot, and lo it had come up from the roots with vigor. I dump a bucket of water on it faithfully, and hopefully it will survive the winter. One of my best rhrododendrons was run over by Mr.Winston several years ago in his zeal to harvest wood from a fallen live oak. It bloomed magnificently this year....of course I call it "Ressurection".