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Dear Editor;
This prolonged dry spell . . . .
Well, some good things have come of it.
I brought back two of my Mom's plants (must be 20+ years ago). She always called them desert plants. They have bloomed only very occasionally. So the other day, much to my surprise, I looked out the kitchen window and saw two really tall, thick "shoots." And now one has cream colored flowers blooming on it. It's a "tangible memory" of my Mom. Her name was Genevieve.
I also have a variety of ornamental grasses in the yard. Their "growing pattern" is described as: 1st year - sleeps, 2nd year - creeps, and 3rd year - leaps. I've been waiting for one in particular - Hot Rod* switch grass - to "wake up" for several years now. I lost one of the plants but so far 2021 seems to be "the year" for the rest. Finally!
*A compact, drought and salt tolerant, clumping grass with excellent vertical form. Blue-green foliage during the growing season turns a deep burgundy in summer. Airy purple flower panicles produce showy seed heads that provide winter interest. A haven for wintering songbirds.
Eileen Z. Fitzsimons
Dodgeville, WI