Magical Mornings

  There is magic to be found in just about everything.  Life in itself is magical.  It is my thought that magic is anything that is unexplained or unexpected.  I have learned a long time ago that you cannot go about life fretting what others think as it is up to you to make life magical.  I live that way now.  Each day proves that my idea is correct.

  At daybreak this morning, I ventured out into the gardens.  The air smelled fresh due to the recent rains and the ground was still wet enough to muffle any footsteps.  The pair of cardinals were patiently waiting for breakfast and the frogs were still in the midst of their serenading of the night before.  It seemed to be a perfect morning and that all was right with the world...at least, it is all right in my little paradise.  Just outside the garden gate, the Althea bush had lovely blooms that were opening with the rising sun.  Their bright lavender petals and burgundy centers were absolutely breathtaking.  These blooms have always been special as the bush has "family ties".  It started as a cutting from my grandparent's place.  I eased my way to inspect the blooms and, to my surprise, found a dragonfly wing inside of one blossom.  Well, that was strange!  Of course, there was probably an ordinary explanation but finding the wing placed so perfectly inside the petal made it magical to me.

  Had Aunt Helen been on this stroll with me, she and I would have immediately proclaimed that a faerie had gotten new wings and left the old one as proof of her existence.  Maybe?  When Aunt Helen was alive, she and I could let our imaginations run amok.  Fantastical tales could be woven on a mere find as the one this morning.  

  Folks, sometimes it is important to let go of the worries of the world and find your own magic. It is out there.  Look for it.  Perhaps the "magic" was not in finding a dragonfly wing nor the lovely Althea bloom.  Perhaps it was in being free enough in my own mind to view it as such.  Finding beauty in mundane things is a gift.  Finding magic in everything is, too.

Not A Daisy

  A few years back, it dawned on me that one of my shrubs had a quite beautiful name.  It is a common hibiscus but goes by two different familiar names...Rose of Sharon and Althea.  At that time, I decided to combine all of the names and call my pretty plant "Althea Rose Sharon Bush".  I also decided that she would be a true Southern Belle that resided in the garden.  It just made sense to me at the time.  The name stuck and now I introduce the lovely lady to visitors to the gardens that surround the Little Bayou House.

  The conversation usually goes a lot like this.  Visitor...What is that beautiful purple bloom?"  Me.."I would like to introduce you to my friend!  This is Althea Rose Sharon Bush and she lives beneath the old oak tree in the garden.".  To which the visitor inexplicably gets a rather bemused look on the face and mutters something that sounds a lot like..."She is a daisy."  I am aghast!  Althea Rose Sharon is not daisy.  She is lovely and a favorite of mine.  Whereas, the visitor starts to explain that they did not think my bush was a daisy but that I am a bit crazy for naming plants.  Well, could be but Althea is not a daisy.  Thus ends the conversation about Althea Rose Sharon as, by this time, the visitor has usually spied the peach tree that is weighted down with fruit or the huge tomato plants that are just starting to ripen their tomatoes.  I hurry along behind still trying to defend the dignity of the Lady Althea.

  Actually, the Rose of Sharon is an old southern favorite.  The bushes are easy to grow, do not require much care and bloom with wild abandon.  Mine is the most common...purple but they come in a wide range of colors from deep maroon to white and everything in between.  The bushes are easy to start from cuttings and seeds so there is no need to have just one.  This is one of the cases where more is better!  Althea Rose Sharon Bush will always have a home in my gardens.

Introducing Althea Rose Sharon Bush!

  I get amused at the names given to plants.  If you will remember, I have touched on this subject several times before but today, I found another plant whose name tickled me.  Althea Bush!  Now, to me this sounds more like I have a fine lady visiting the gardens rather than me visiting a shrub in the garden.  The Althea Bush had a single bloom on it before the rains set in this morning.  That bloom has now been beaten to shreds by the torrential downpour but it was gorgeous before all of its trauma.  The bloom got me thinking about the name of the plant.  Althea Bush is a pretty name suitable for the finest of ladies.  As matter of fact, I know several ladies with the last name of Bush and they are all perfectly genteel, Southern belles.  This plant is no different. It is a true Southern Belle as well since it loves hot weather.  What struck me as being a bit humorous is the fact that not only can this be a quite respectful name for a human, the other name for the plant is just as proper.  Rose of Sharon.  Think about it. My shrub's full name can be Althea Rose Sharon Bush!  

  The Althea or Rose of Sharon belongs to the hibiscus family.  It, like all hibiscus plants, tends to love hot, humid weather which makes it perfect to grow here on the Bayou.  We have a never ending supply of that humidity!  It is also rather cold hardy as well.  Whereas the ice storms this past winter, wreaked havoc on most of my hibiscus bushes, the Althea Bush was not harmed.  This seems a tad strange since I had moved the hibiscus bushes into the shed and quite literally forgot about the poor Althea.  The hibiscus bushes froze...the Althea did not!  The shrub is easy to grow and to propagate by cuttings or seeds.  Notice that I feel it necessary to capitalize the name!  I am beginning to feel if my shrub has a true persona here! She (with the name of Althea Rose Sharon, the shrub is definitely a female) is fast becoming part of the family!  Once you name something there is no denying the kinship.  My next project is to propagate hundreds of Altheas and name them all!  I could start a trend here!