Ironweeds line the roads where I take my daily walks. Their deep purple is every bit as rich as rhododendrons. I’m thinking of the breathtaking violet-colored rhododendrons I’ve seen at Greendale Cemetery in Meadville. Right around Memorial Day that whole cemetery turns pink, white, red, and purple. There must be hundreds of rhododendrons planted there. It’s truly majestic. Make a point of spending half an hour at Greendale Cemetery next May.
While rhododendron’s showy blooms are lovely to the eye, I appreciate ironweed more than rhododendron because their beauty shines without anyone having to plant, weed, or water them. God plants and waters them.
I don’t see rhododendrons after early June. Dozens of other flowers bloom in June and July. Everything from pink peonies to white snowball bushes decorate yards and gardens in the Atlantic community. Ironweed doesn’t bloom until late August or early September, when everything else has gone to seed.
This is why I appreciate these wildflowers so much. They thrive as all the other plants lie dormant. They are wide awake when the others sleep until next spring or summer.
Some people might turn their noses up at ironweeds while oohing and ahhing over rhododendrons. And while these flowers seem like polar opposites, they do have similar traits. Both bloom annually without any human intervention. Both can be violet hued. But they’re also different. Ironweeds bloom for at least two months. I’m lucky to have blooms on my rhododendrons for a week.
Let’s step back for a moment now. How do you see yourself? Are you a rhododendron or an ironweed?
When you honestly assess yourself, could you say you’re strong, reliable, and resilient? Or are you reliable, but only for short stretches? Do you come early to work and stay late to make sure the job gets done? Or are you showy and beautiful, the kind of person people flock around, who draw people with a flashing smile or display boundless talent?
Don’t get me wrong. We need both kinds of people. But I think ironweed people make a bigger impact on the world. We need reliable, strong people who, like ironweed, can stand in unseasonable heat and sunlight and survive colder weather. Ironweed lives are the kinds of lives that really endure and inspire.
But I hope all of us have rhododendron moments when we shine; these are the moments we remember forever. Just something to think about the next time you see a tall purple weed along the roadside.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!