Cloudy & Golden

Buttery clouds

For the last few days all the talk has been about a series of upcoming storm systems. Sounds pretty exciting, too, as I’ve heard major rain’s on the way — up to 18 inches, someone said! So, this morning when I ventured out to check on the plants, I was happy to see it was sunny and cloudy … not with thunderheads but with buttery clouds of cassia artemisioides. A drought-loving shrub, this evergreen can bloom from winter through to summer and produces billowy masses of buttercup yellow blossoms. When we first took possession of the Rancho there was an enormous number of these plants enveloping the rear of the property.

A gorgeous contrast

Some of the larger plants were almost 6-feet tall and we had to thin them out considerably to get the area under control. We did leave plenty, though, and they look beautiful even when not in bloom, as their foliage is feathery and light, a cool shade of blue/green, that moves with the slightest breeze. True full-sun lovers, they produce dark brown narrow seed pods between blooming seasons. I love that we can have so much color in the wintertime; the sun shining upon the cassias this morning was really striking. As I’m typing this the sun’s just gone down and the rains have begun. In spite of the wet days ahead, the sunny blooms of the cassia will remain … a reminder that the gray won’t last forever.