Mimosa

In Italy, bouquets of the mimosa flower are given to women on March 8, International Women's Day. It's a very pretty flower, but doesn't last very long once it's been cut. I prefer to look at the mimosa flowers on the tree just outside my front door. It blooms at about this time in January every year...by the time March 8 rolls around the flowers are long gone. The flowers don't last long on the tree either, but our visual pleasure is somewhat extended by the fact that this tree was grafted to another years ago. The bottom half blooms first and just when those flowers are fading, the top half of the tree explodes with color!