Walking on a Saturday Morning to See the Sunset (Echinacea and Maple)

This Saturday Morning I walked around the yard doing some little garden chores. I stopped by a mum and clipped it back (and took the cuttings inside for propagating). I watered a few things around the gardens, mostly cuttings that have been potted up. I limbed up our ‘Sunset’ maple (Acer rubrum) to prevent some lower branches from getting too large. This red maple cultivar was the first tree we planted in our yard after we bought our house. With it we planted our hopes for shade. I trimmed three lower branches and I may trim one or two more to encourage more growth on the high end of the tree. It’s a good idea to trim trees when they are small and easy to cut with pruners rather than a saw.

I continued to meander around the yard stopping often to gaze at what plants were blooming in our various gardens. In the Birdbath Garden the Echinacea x ‘Sunset’s are stealing the show.

Their peachy blooms shine brightly in the morning sun as the antithesis of the dawn. How often can one stand in the sunlight at dawn and see the sunset? Everyday brings this figurative phenomenon to life in my garden. At least while the growing season is sweeping along. It is joined by other flowers like salvia, coreopsis, and a butterfly bush but for now just look at the sunset.

Not every bud is in bloom but each of those buds bring the promise of a future ‘Sunset’ in the garden.

The beauty of echinacea is easy to appreciate but especially when so little care is needed to make the plant perform. In fact you might have to work hard to prevent it from performing. But really, why would you want to do that?