A Touch of Pink

The summer hailstorms pretty much devastated our front yard. Trees and bushes were stripped of many of their leaves. Hostas were shredded like lettuce even though they were ready to bloom. Some English ivy plants were pounded so severely they had no deep green leaves left. Some plants died. There was a lot of cleaning up to do, but as we did it my partner and I noticed new growth. The magnolia bush on the parking not only got new leaves but also two new, out-of-season blossoms. That seemed very nice. The ornamental grasses began to recover. Before long we saw beautifully shaped leaves on the Eastern Redbud tree.

The cone flowers recovered quickly--they always seem to do so no matter what happens. I noticed some delicate flowers I didn't recall seeing before: some pink and some light blue blossoms. Jim mentioned one weedy-looking new growth wondering if it might be a cosmos. He'd never had any but hoped this plant might grow. His guess was right. We now have a pink cosmos. I suspect next year we'll have several. 

This past week I worked several times in the yard and have enjoyed looking at the process of recovery underway there. I like the clusters of color, especially the new pink flowers. I suspect I'll have get out there with my pad and pencils and begin drawing. The leaves and stems have great shapes and the flowers are actually very simple. Then I'll have to make new paintings and prints of the things that once again abound in the garden.

Denver, 2015