This is truly a banner year for plants blooming! I found two plants in my yard today which haven’t bloomed in a really long time or ever. The joy in seeing something finally blooming which isn’t a common bloomer is significant. It took a patient mind, heart, and soul to wait for those plants to bloom! A gardener has to be patient though, for gardening is rife with uncontrollable uncertainties and living matter, including plants, has plentiful imperfections. The lifespan of plants isn’t really in our control, though we like to think we have a significant part in the health and well-being of our plants! There are weather extremes, irregular rainfall, disease and pest problems to worry about. Each day and every season bring new challenges, especially in a harsh desert environment like this!  

One of those plants blooming this Spring after a long period sans blooms is my Jacaranda tree, which just a few years after planting, suffered from a Winter of several touches of hard frost, requiring that it had to be severely cut back. After a slow, prolonged renewal, that Jacaranda is blooming once again! When I noticed the vibrant purple blooms, I ran outside to get a few photos. It’s been something I waited a long time to see, with hopeful expectancy! And this morning, there they were, glorious purple trumpet-shaped flowers in clusters upon several branches! For me, those blooms were answered prayers! That Jacaranda tree is one of my favorites, and I truly had to endure several years of waiting to see its beauty renewed. My patience was rewarded today for sure.

Another plant which is beginning to bloom today is a variegated Duranta which had never bloomed before. The foliage is stellar, the plant has been thriving and growing like gangbusters, but there were never any blooms prior to now! I’m not sure why this variety has never bloomed before. I have other Durantas which have bloomed every year and even several times a year. But I didn’t mind, as the foliage and shape of the plant have been very pleasing over the years. I almost forgot what the plant’s flowers were supposed to look like. But seeing the buds opening up now, I realize that the flowers of this variety are as special as the unique foliage! The smaller purple flowers on Wisteria-like clumps have white ruffled edges in this cultivar! I am so joyful after years of waiting to finally see this plant fulfilling all the expectations I surely had when I purchased it. 

Earlier this Spring, I wandered around my garden and took photos of whatever was blooming! I did that again today, although a lot of different plants are now showing off instead of the plants which had been a month or so ago. This has been a truly rewarding Spring for beauty, fragrance, and variety in desert gardens so impacted by significant Winter rainfall and now, seasonal warmth. Things are bursting with life and most landscapes around the city, both man-made and natural, are filled with flowers, flowering shrubs, and trees heavy-laden with blooms! It’s absolutely beautiful! Each new day is surprisingly promising for my landscape’s evolving beauty. And I take great joy in witnessing each and every beautiful transformation unfolding, especially those which required a bit of my patience to behold!