Everybody who knows me knows that I dearly love my husband. And everyone who knows him knows his logical thinking often trumps my creative/emotional style when it comes to practical stuff. But every once in a while I am RIGHT and emotion trumps logic, and I just love those little bits of time.
Remember back a year and a half ago when we started the studio addition? We had some shrubbery we had to take down to put in the foundation. One of the shrubs was my Rose of Sharon, and I mourned it’s being cut down. In deference to me, and probably against his better judgement as it was in the way when laying the brick, my husband didn’t dig it up but just cut it down almost to the ground. All the while informing me that he might as well dig it out as it wouldn’t, couldn’t possibly come back from that deep of a cutting. He only left about 3″ above ground on the stump. And as it had gotten so very overgrown before he cut it down, it had become one of his least favorite shrubs on the property. It had grown up to where it was difficult to mow around outside the box it was in and sometimes it even blocked the satellite dish reception. But I loved it so he left it during the construction process.
Last summer it started trying to come back, but it was a struggle. That was a major pruning and for a while it looked like DH was right and it would have been better to just take the stump out and start over. Today as I walked near the studio porch I was DELIGHTED to see I WAS RIGHT!!!!! It came back, and is blooming once again!!!!
Now I will have to do a better job of annual pruning than I had in the past as I don’t want to lose sight out of that window. And yes, you are seeing completely through the studio to the front window with the cherry tree in front of it in that window. But it’s BLOOMING!!!!
Why am I so enamored of this particular Rose of Sharon? Here’s a close-up of the actual blossoms. It’s easy to see why I love it.
So many layers of petals in that flower, with that peek of the deep color in the center. And the petals aren’t quite white, nor are they quite pink. Yes, it’s one of my favorite shrubs on the property.
The rest of the porch is coming along nicely, in spite of some replanting that needed done after our heat wave:
And the color is filling in nicely now along the driveway side of the studio boxes too, although it looks like I need to trim and weed again:
Unfortunately not all of the Canna’s I planted came up so next year I’ll fill in the missing spots with Gladiola’s and Hollyhocks. But there’s lots of flower and color inspiration around the studio. And a fare share of bees too, so I’m careful what time of the day I go out and play in the garden. ;>)
Of course we won’t discuss in this particular post how many times he’s right when it comes to the practical landscaping stuff……
