About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. Commenced a masters by research in 2014.
When I was a kid in New Jersey, my dad had a flowering tree he called a Rose of Sharon. It didn’t look like a traditional rose bush of which he’d planted dozens, but it also didn’t look like the hibiscus usually called by this name. Still, I loved the tree because it bore my name. Your pictures are beautiful, showing the blooms several ways. I hadn’t thought of the plant in our yard for many years until I saw your photos, Irene, so thank you for the sweet memory.
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So glad I brought back some memories for you and the name – I thought of you when I posted.
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I had a plant like this, but I believe it died this winter. Mine had soft pink blossoms. I heard it called a Confederate Rose. I loved the white and deep pink/red contrast on your variety. Absolutely gorgeous! Terrific photos. I also like that yours grows like a small tree. Mine was more a bush. Thanks so much for sharing this one.
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Pity about your bush Linda. You must have had a cold winter or else it had just lived its life. Sad either way. I think this could also be a bush if it was pruned to be shrubby.
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Gorgeous, flashy flowers – at first I thought they were peonies. I had a wall of peonies in my garden in Chicago, but they don’t do well in North Carolinal I never knew what Rose of Sharon looked like.
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This is what we call a rose of Sharon but what it is exactly I have no idea. A wall of peonies sounds nice.
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Irene,
I am sorry but what you are displaying is in no way a Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus. It is, as suggested above, a plant known as Confederate Rose, Hibiscus mutabilis. It has a pithy stem that will NEVER become woody as it is not one of the shrubby hibiscus but one of the perennial types.
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I’ll believe you. I didn’t know it was a hibiscus even. My parents called this a rose of Sharon but they weren’t gardeners either so we have no doubt been wrong for generations. Thanks for pointing it out.
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Perhaps Rose of Sharon, a common name, varies between countries, regions and localities. I have been looking up the two thanks to you providing the generic names and come across hibiscus mutabilis which on this site at least is also known as Rose of Sharon or Cotton Rose. http://www.plantthis.com.au/plant-information.asp?gardener=16306&tabview=photos&plantSpot=
Thanks for letting me know it is a form of hibiscus. That really surprised me.
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