Monday, July 23, 2012

Beautiful Rose of Sharon



I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 2:1

The Biblical reference almost certainly does not refer to what is commonly known today as a Rose of Sharon and what I have in my yard. . . but isn’t it a beautiful bush! When the blooms fall, it creates a halo of blossoms on the ground beneath.


 I walked outside this morning and counted. I have six bushes. They have purple and pink flowers. One of my bushes at the corner of my house is a combination of purple and white. Not on the same bush, but two bushes that grew side by side.



 
These plants are so easy to grow. I read somewhere where a person just stuck a branch into the dirt until it took root. The seed pods can be a blessing and a curse. If left to nature, these pods drop and reseed the bush. This is great if you are looking to plant new bushes and/or trees in different places.
But they can take over. The only place in my yard where they 'take over' is at the corner of my house where I have a large one. It is planted inside of  landscape timbers. Their seeds fall and grow. This does not happen to the ones out in my yard because the grass is always mowed around them.
You could take the pods off in early spring before they have a chance to drop and repopulate. But if you have a large plant, there will be many,  many seed pods to remove.


I walked in the back yard of my neighbors house yesterday, hunting down my walking partner. I found her at her flower garden. I didn't realize she had so many Rose of Sharon plants . . . all started by my over abundance of plants. One is a gorgeous white!


They are very easy to grow. They love the sun and a well drained soil. They are a late bloomer, so you can enjoy them when other plants and flowers have lost their early blooms.

The bees and butterflies love them! Who couldn't love them? They are so beautiful!

Do you have a Rose of Sharon plant? What colors? If you are ever by my way in the summer, I could give you a little sprout and you could watch it grow into a gorgeous plant.

Posted by Janet F. Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch.
©Janet F. Smart
 

12 comments:

  1. These are beautiful Janet.. I have a lavender and a white..They are sisde by side and grew together.. Rose of Sharon is a beautiful tree for sure..Hope you have a nice week and don't work to hard in those squash..lol..

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  2. I don't have one but I do have crepe myrtle bushes in bloom. That's about all the color in my yard besides brown.

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  3. Beautiful photos.
    I have a purple Rose of Sharon but it does not have the lovely center which your variety has. It is a large shrub and bloom heavily here in Louisiana. I also have a new one I planted this year. It is white with a deep purple center. It only had 3 blooms this year but I'm hoping for a good year of blooms next year when it's had a chance to mature a bit.

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  4. Rose of Sharon -- a lovely plant. Although I have not grown any I have neighbors who grow them and therefore can enjoy them. -- barbara

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  5. The plant called Rose of Sharon here will begin flowering as white and then the blooms change to pink as they age. It looks the same shrub and flower as yours. Love any flower! xo

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  6. I don't have one, but now I want one. They are gorgeous.

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  7. My neighbor has one. I always wondered what it was until he told me it was a "Rose of Sharon" bush.

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  8. We have them throughout the village and they provide welcome color all summer long.

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  9. We have them throughout the village and they provide welcome color all summer long.

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  10. They are so beautiful. My sister has two bushes--one pink and one white--from my mom's yard. They are reminders of how my mom loved to garden.
    Donna

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  11. Granny has them all around her house too : )

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  12. They are very hardy shrubs and quite well. When we bought our first house, for almost 20 years, had a rose of Sharon in the front flower bed. I had no idea what it was and it was February and the damn thing look pitiful. So cut it all and think that we will see what happens. It grew and bloomed like crazy! It took all my abuse and became even more charming.

    Sumac Shrub Varieties

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