A rhododendron that was hit by a falling tree branch.

Everyone is in favor of helping those less fortunate than ourselves, but sometimes we forget that plants too can have disabilities. Last winter a huge branch from a tulip tree fell on a Rhododendron breaking off all of its branches except one.  I thought it was a sorry sight—so distorted. I assumed I would replace it in the spring.  Once spring came, I changed my mind. I have never seen such bloom—all along the one lonely branch. It certainly was trying harder. New shoots are sprouting as well.

I decided I would point it out to garden snobs when they visit and tell them I was training it to be an arch. The truth is it doesn’t really matter what you do in a garden as much as how you rhapsodize about it.