Surprise, Surprise!

Purple sage is a staple landscaping plant in the dry Texas climate. Its beautiful purple flowers bloom against green foliage that varies from a light gray-green, to a deep, dark green. I joined in this Texas tradition by planting my own purple sage about 3 years ago. It had grown into a nice, welcoming bush at the junction of our circle drive.

Early this spring I started to notice that one of the sections of my purple sage had curling leaves that were beginning to wither. I decided that I must have neglected to water it enough. They are very drought tolerant, but I guess any plant has its limit! I began to give it a little water every day, but the curling leaves continued to creep along until the whole plant was covered in curled up, crispy leaves.

I still held out a little hope that my purple sage would come back from the roots, so I postponed cutting it down. After a while it became clear that my bush was no more. I was perplexed by these events, but had no clue as to their origin. I cleared away the branches and decided to not plant another purple sage in that location.

Recently while I was working in the house, my husband called me to come outside for a surprise. Our oldest daughter had come by to visit. As she walked through the yard she noticed a small plant that looked familiar. She bent down and saw that it was a purple sage! Not the same purple sage, but a new one that must have been spread by seeds (do they spread by seeds?). It was a couple of feet away from the location of the former bush.

I was so surprised and excited! Thank you, Lord, for these little surprises to brighten my days!

New plant is in the lower left, stump from old plant is in the upper right.

Nice little surprise!