Then and Now....Shade and Sun

Now...
I love Lavatera. This one is in the back yard and I can't remember its name. I call it Pretty Pink Eye (not cunjunctivitis). It's from the mallow family, which also includes Rose of Sharon, hibiscus, and hollyhocks. You know I love hollyhocks.
Then...
July 2006. Do you see a giant hollyhock? I don’t either. There is a little wimpy one barely visible in front of the purple liatris. It had been attempting to bloom for a long time in the shade of an overgrown upright juniper.

Then...

A month earlier I'd had the juniper taken out. The bare dirt shows how much area it took up. And it was taller than the house.

Now....

The hollyhock took full advantage, wouldn't you say?

Then...

See the feverfew in July 2006? (the white clump behind the geese). You can’t see the pink lavatera but it’s visible in the second picture above, at the front edge of the bed, seeking one of the few sunny spots the juniper didn't hog.

Now...
Look at the lavatera this year. It spread back into the feverfew because….there's sun. (The purple verbena didn't magically appear, I yanked out last year's Yellow Archangel -nasty stuff- and planted Homestead Purple this spring).

It was fun to compare pictures from last year to this year. I also solved a mystery. Every time I look out the living room window I wonder what the funny looking clump of grass is under the giant hollyhock this year. After viewing these photos I see that it's last year's purple Liatris clearly visible in the second photo. Good thing the camera remembers, I sure don't.