Rose of Sharon

Its botanical name is Althea, which is a pretty name from Greek mythology, but I always knew it as Rose of Sharon. When we moved to the mountains, we brought with us three small Rose of Sharons from my grandparents' yard, descendants of others that had made the trip from Troy, Alabama to Florida. We planted our three by the barn where we were living and today, they tower above us and their descendants are all over the place. It's a hardy plant that produces lots of seeds -- too many, some would say.

I'm partial to our shrubs, just because of the sentimental tie, but they're common in yards around here. And when I heard a neighbor describe them as "Rosasharn," I remembered the young girl from Grapes of Wrath who bore that name.

Local pronunciation had me baffled for quite a while. Once a neighbor gave me an apple, bragging on how good it tasted and what a long keeper it was. After a bite, I asked for the name, thinking we would plant a tree of this fine apple. He told me the name and I carefully wrote it down -- Yarkin Pearl. I wondered where or who Yarkin was but didn't find out till I began to peruse a catalogue of antique apple varieties.

Try I never so hard, I couldn't find the Yarkin Pearl. I did, however, find what I was looking for -- the York Imperial.