Azaleas

This is a magical time of year in Houston. The mosquitoes have not yet taken on plague proportion, and the hedges are all coming into bloom. Last weekend, we toured two notable homes in our neighborhood that were part of the Azalea Trail, a fundraising event put on by the garden club. One was an original home from the late 1930s and the other was a spectacular newer estate with Spanish and Mediterranean gardens and grounds filled with fountains (at least two containing koi) Paige and Graham were fun for everyone to have around because they let out unabashed exclamations like "OH look Mommy! Another fountain!" or "UUUhhooohooo, look at those statues! They're angels" and more than one onlooker grinned while enjoying the view from their vantagepoint.

Our azaleas are a little behind the pack, because we don't use any chemical sprays to force them along. We are friends with some grandparent-aged neighbors who have a beautiful, classic Houston garden with a side gate and welcoming fountain. They let us enter every year and enjoy it. Yesterday, even though Grahamie still had a fever, he was game for some picture-taking. He insisted on wearing a tie with his suit and asked me to make his hair handsome.