The first year I was amazed at the apricots. Trees were breaking form the weight. They were even all over the sidewalks, mostly smushed. The raccoons played “ball” with them in the middle of the night on my flat roof. Absolutely, I was truly baffled the first night that happened. Of course I thought that was the normal crop, but alas, we’ve very few this year, and for several years past.
Last summer was the year of yellow wild flowers. Our drought was somewhat broken and
by mid summer. We had an amazing array of wild yellow flowers blooming everywhere all through the fall. A number of people were allergic, but for myself, no reaction for a change. I just gloried in the bright sunny landscape.
2007 is the year of the opportunist Las Varas de San Jose. English gardens are what Hollyhocks bring to my mind, yet they originated in China. The Spanish colonists loved them too and found they would flourish when more tender planting would not tolerate our climatic extremes . And now they grow all over Santa Fe, in fact throughout the state. Maybe that is why they are tolerated when weeds would not be. Although I love my high desert and re
d rock country, this unpredictable burst of many colors is a real treat.
In our neighborhood they have wandered out of the gardens and are thriving in amazing places. They have even grown up in the crevices between the sidewalk and the curb. Actually the sidewalks can be obstacle courses with huge, bushy stalks lining both sides. And they are all along fences and driveways that don’t have the usual planting areas.
And the colors. Oh the colors. From soft whites and pale pinks through deep purples, almost black. A real feast for the eyes and a lift for the Spirit. We’ve had a remarkably wet spring so everything is growing in abundance. And the Hollyhocks are sturdier than usual, so they don’t even need any bracing. D
on’t tell the neighbors, but I just might gather some seed pods on my evening walk one day. Our yard is a bit sparse. We don’t seem to have time to get to the gardening, but these are glorious perennials even in years with less water.
When I was a child in North Carolina daffodils and jonquils appeared to grow wild along the ditches of our farms. Women from my lineage had planted many varities over the decades and they too had escaped to grow wild. In memory of those dear women who touched my young life with such visual delight, I send a Voice to Spirit in gratitude for all the every day beauty and wonder that bless my life.
Just wanted to share a bit of the enchantment of my home, nomad though I might appear.
Be well, and many blessings
KiP