Sunday, July 1, 2012

Bist du verrückt?

...Which means, "Are you crazy?" in German, according to Babelfish.  That premier internet translator gives me the exact same phrase for "are you nuts?," which I thought would be slightly different, but I guess the English context affects the translation.  "Are you walnuts?" and "Are you pecans?" DO result in a different German phrase so I conclude that "Bist du verrückt?" is the correct question to ask of a befuddled plant.

Digressions aside, the question here is "Why is my 'Yellow Bird' Magnolia reblooming in the middle of Summer?"  The bloom pictured at upper left in a photo taken yesterday is a sunbleached and heat-burnt, but partially open bloom, one of two that I noticed forming a couple of days ago.  'Yellow Bird' bloomed at its usual time this year in my garden, in April, and it is not supposed to be a rebloomer by half. 

Poor thing, it must have been completely confused by the two decent rains we had around 10 days ago.  After a long Fall, Winter and Spring of drought, something in the plant said "Hey, I didn't bloom enough, and there's water to spare now, so therefore it must be Spring again."  A very odd thing, as plant hormones go, isn't it?  There are also seed pods forming on the plant at the same time.  And buds for next year.

We'll just have chalk it up to another strange weather phenomenon in Kansas. Or to alien invasion. Take your pick.  Both make about as much sense to me in a garden where my autumn asters, goldenrods, and Rose of Sharons are all now in bloom, at least a full month early.  What's next?  Witch Hazel in August?  Bring it on.

4 comments:

  1. Not only are my Rose of Sharon in full bloom, my Mums are trying, too!
    Your magnolia is gorgeous! I guess we'd best just enjoy this crazy growing season as it comes!
    KZK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is "trying" when the Mum's bloom before the 4th of July, isn't it?

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  2. As long as we don't get any snow til winter, I'm taking all garden wierdness in stride. In Thomas Jefferson's garden diary he described weather years almost identical to ours. I think Mother Nature just has a quirky sense of humor. :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good for you, Casa. I will try to emulate your que sera, sera Doris Day-inspired attitude about the summer.

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