Let's talk about things that grow ... and grow ... and grow

Anyone who has been paying any attention at all knows we are concluding a most unusual spring.

It has been, for the most part, cool and wet. This means conditions have been ideal for flowers, shrubs and trees in our area.

This was certainly evident last Saturday during the tour of six interesting gardens sponsored by the garden clubs of Cape Girardeau.

But take a look around your own yard. I'll bet you will see blossomy displays like you've not seen in many, many years.

The weather was nearly perfect for Saturday's garden tour. The displays ranged from casual to very formal, and each yard had something interesting that you wouldn't find anywhere else.

Another display that has passed nearly all expectations is the landscaping along Broadway. When the plantings were first introduced a couple of years ago, it was difficult to imagine how they would look after a spring that provided the best growing conditions possible.

In Speak Out recently, someone commented that the Broadway plantings have been marred by weeds. I wondered at the outset of the landscaping project if the trees, shrubs and flowers would get the ongoing attention they deserved. As it turns out, they have -- and then some.

Most of the plantings along Broadway were selected not only for the beauty they provide, but also for their hardiness in an urban setting spiked by exhaust fumes and other conditions that would kill many plants.

As it turns out, the Broadway plantings have thrived, but never more so than this year, when temperature and moisture combined for a near-perfect growing season.

Yes, there are some weeds here and there along Broadway. Some are in cracks in sidewalks that always seem to provide excellent growing conditions for the worst weeds.

While city crews have been diligent in maintaining the Broadway flowers, the same cannot always be said for property owners and the folks who run businesses along that stretch of downtown. It seems to me they could take a bit of responsibility for the landscape that attracts customers to their businesses -- just as they could shovel snow from the sidewalks during the winter.

But that's another soapbox.

In my own yard, the lilies have put on a dazzling performance this year. Those lilies have been there for several years, but they have never shown off like this year.

And everything else is doing just as well. Lace-cap hydrangeas that have always struggled during blossom time because of Missouri's oppressive heat, which generally arrives mid-spring, are blooming spectacularly this year.

And the regular hydrangeas are loaded with blossoms, some of which have found their way into the house to fill vases with color and beauty.

The azaleas this year were unlike anything we've seen before. Watch out, Charleston. If we have any more springs like this one, I might have to say Cape Girardeau is a true rival for seasonal beauty, even though Charleston -- the one in Southeast Missouri -- will always be at or near the top of my list.

If you missed the garden tour or haven't driven down Broadway for a while, this would be a good time to take a quick self-guided tour. I think you'll see that Cape Girardeau is making huge strides toward becoming a magnet as a destination for folks interested in landscaping beauty.

Don't forget to go by the new Gateley rose garden in front of the Red House Interpretive Center. And look at the garden around the Red House.

Thanks to everyone who plants and tends growing things simply because they add beauty to our lives. Your efforts are seen and appreciated.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.