Isn’t it frustrating when you look forward to particular plants flowering and then the weather spoils the occasion? That’s what happened with my Japanese windflowers.
I love to see the blooms of my windflowers sway in the breeze. I have several patches of them throughout the garden and, when they are out of season, the leaves make useful ground covers and discourage weeds from growing. They multiply easily and are equally easy to remove if they spread where not wanted.
Watching flower stalks and buds develop heightens my anticipation of the beauty to come. I like to see the changes on my daily cruise around the garden. All was looking promising for a bumper year of flowers. Then the hailstorm hit in early April.
Depending on where you live in this area, the severity of the hail and rain differed during the storm. We had masses of hailstones; so many that they covered the grass, garden beds and roads. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought the ground was covered with snow.
The hail shredded the leaves on many of my plants. The poor hydrangea leaves had holes ripped through them and the dahlias were knocked around. But it was my windflowers that copped the full brunt of the icy assault. Most of the buds and flowers were stripped.
The next day, while I was cleaning the mess, I kept thinking about last year’s flowers. I whipped out this photo I took of them then to cheer myself up. It worked, and I started to daydream about next windflower season.