While Andy may better know his way around automobiles and kitchen stuff, I’m the master in the garden. Sometimes, the master has much to learn, and that was the case when I happened upon Andy’s weigela at his old house. It bloomed prolifically at this time of the year, beginning a cavalcade of pink that lasted a solid week or two, especially if nights stayed cool and there was enough moisture in the air. I asked him what it was and he said he thought it was a Weigela. It was the first and only time he knew the name of a plant before I did.
When we moved into our current home, and the first spring began to reveal which plants were in the backyard, I watched as a rather plain-leaved bush sprouted. It’s form was somewhat fountain-like, similar to a forsythia. Nearby, a Japanese maple unfurled its fine maroon leaves. Carpets of pachysandra extended well beyond where we would eat them. The shrub I couldn’t identity slowly revealed more of itself as the warm weather arrived. Buds appeared, and I recalled the Weigela. A few days later they bloomed pink as seen here – a standard variety that made its way around the upstate New York landscaping. It felt like a link to the past, blooming in our future backyard.
