Re-blooming (Honest!!)

FINALLY.  I am submitting my photographic proof that my re-blooming lilac truly is re-blooming!  You can see there are buds past their prime, a few in their prime, and several waiting to bloom.  Hopefully in a few more years, more than one branch will re-bloom at any given time . . .  it's still a   young'un . . . only planted about 3 years ago.

I've been thinking about perennials lately, and have come to a couple of conclusions about myself.  It's already well established that I'm lazy efficient, but there are plenty of other reasons that I enjoy perennials much more than annuals.

I swear this picture should have been part of my Crafty Nature post - all I see when I look at this is a cartoon drawing of a purple female camel w/ thick eyelashes!  See it??

Sorry, that was a complete non-sequitur, but I had to include it!

Why do I like perennials so much better than annuals (aside from the obvious efficiency perspective)?  I like watching them grow year after year, not just for a short season.  They're almost family after a while, with some sentimental attachment to them.  We're in it for the long haul together.

They are survivors.  They do not easily fall victim to the weather, and while at times beat down by  sun, wind, rain, frost and/or ice, they often come back of their own accord when things return to "normal."  Other times they may need some TLC and extra efforts, but they live and thrive.

If planted appropriately, they require little maintenance.  Planting flowers that need huge amounts of sun where you only have shade doesn't work, and to have even minimal success turns those plants high maintenance.  I'm not a fan of high maintenance under any circumstance (and you can leave the drama out, too!).  Nice, dependable plants that do their job in the ecosystem.

The potential for them to live on long after I'm gone exists.  They do not count on me to provide their nourishment; they seek it out for themselves as nature provides.  When the time is right, they no longer grow or bloom for a while, but reduce their needs to the minimum of existence.  They rest and prepare.

Sometimes the startling truth is they are just as beautiful, or more beautiful, when the bloom is gone.  That flash of color was pretty and beautiful, but look what's left behind that lasts even longer!  Open your eyes to different.

And while this sunflower is NOT a perennial, it's growing because the seed fell from the bird feeder.  I did not plant it; I have not watered it.  And yet it grows.  I doubt the squirrels will allow it to get much further along in blooming, but I have to respect it's tenacity and durability.

There are so many lessons we can learn from watching nature.  I've decided to be a perennial sunflower, figuratively speaking, of course.  I am a survivor (but can always be more tenacious), relatively low maintenance, and I try to continue to learn and grow in experience and knowledge.

I also know that when the body is no longer able to function, I will bloom in a new garden with annuals and perennials of every type, and each of us will be perfectly happy in the presence of the Son.