One-Tenth of an Acre
Just for a Couple of Weeks
For nearly thirty years, the burning bush beside the front steps has been putting on a little autumn show. I still stop to watch.
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| The burning bush beside the front steps, November 2026. |
For nearly thirty years, the burning bush beside the front steps has been putting on a little autumn show. I still stop to watch.
Every autumn, for about two weeks, the burning bush out front turns the most remarkable shade of red.
And every autumn, I find myself going out of my way to look at it.
I planted it in May 1998. I know that because I still have the little notebook I started keeping when we bought 173. Right there among the early garden notes is an entry for the burning bush in the front yard.
Twenty-eight years later, it's still there.
It doesn't require much attention. Every year or two, I give it a pretty good haircut, with a little trimming here and there in between. For most of the year, it's just a nice green shrub beside the front steps.
But then November comes along.
I usually park along the side street, so I don't ordinarily approach the house from the front. But when that bush turns red, I'll sometimes slow down as I'm driving past just to have another look.
And more than once, I've gotten home from work and walked around to the front of the house before going inside.
Just to look at a bush.
I know. But you oughta see it.
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| A closer look at those remarkable November reds. |
I've always enjoyed those little unexpected splashes of red around 173. There's a bit of it here and there, sometimes deliberately, sometimes not.
This one just happens to be courtesy of the garden.
And after all these years, it still catches my eye.
Not bad for a shrub that spends about fifty weeks of the year being green.
Hey, thanks for stopping by - see ya' next time!
