Above is a pic I took today of the front of my house. And just below, is a pic I took early last year:
And here's one from the year before that:
Notice the big difference? The bush on the left, which for the past few years has really been an amalgam of two different bushes, has pretty much been decimated. Like the bush on the right, it was blighted by the horrific cold snap we've had that lasted waaaaay too long for Central Florida and our sub-tropical flora. The one on the right, a "purebred" purple bougainvillea, looks like it survived and though it was in full bloom when the freeze hit us, then all its green and purple leaves dies off, the green bits are coming back and I have no doubt it'll bloom good as new soon enough. These bushes bloom in waves anyway so no big whoop. The left Franken-villea though... well, that's why I say you should pray for it. As you can see in the "before" pic, it was almost as tall as its counterpart to the right, about near a good six and a half feet tall... over my head for sure. Now, after yesterday when I had to "have at it" with NoFu's lopper he let me borrow, I pruned it down dramatically to half of what it was. I think this is what's needed since it was fully dead above this height and only here, where you see it, if you could peer in close, can you make out a little bit of green trying to poke out here and there. C'mon Buddy, we're prayin' to the God of the Thorny-ass Bushes up there for ya!
Here's a little memory lane look back by the way. You can see these bushes can get much more bloomy at certain times of the year, as seen in the pic just below, and in the bottom pic, from seven or eight years ago, you can see my lil' baby was indeed a lil' baby back then.
