Thursday, July 22, 2021

Clethra Is Blooming, Hummingbirds Humming, and Butterflies Landing in Eden






We have an interesting calendar of blooming and fruiting. The mints are early and persistent, which makes the bees grateful. Hardy bulbs come up soon after and spring bulbs last. The roses can be prolific on Mother's Day - but not this year. The last celebrities to bloom are the Clethra shrubs and Joe Pye. 

Long after that, Beauty Berries bloom and fruit to feed the birds into autumn and beyond. Beauty Berries are like that cute little pet that someone adopts for irrational reasons, then find themselves enslaved by that overgrown, impossible to get rid of, no longer cute pet. Our two Beauty Berry bushes are so broad now that trimming them back will be a major task.