A month ago, I had given up on this begonia. I’m not sure if I had neglected it too much or the mama bird that laid her eggs and then nurtured her babies in it had taken too big a toll, but I was sure it was a goner. All the leaves had turned brown and dried up, as did the pretty pink flowers. But then something happened.

I put it aside in my backyard, intending to add it to a pile of other past-their-prime plants. I ignored it for a few weeks. Then about a week ago, I noticed a new growth of green leaves on it. I gave it a good shower and it kept growing. Now there are green leaves almost all the way up — and pink flowers have appeared.

Glad I didn’t toss it in the garbage or scrap pile. It’s a nice addition — again — to the back patio.

Note: Thanks to fellow blogger Shannon of DirtNKids for nicely mentioning that this is a begonia — not an azalea as I originally posted. Not sure where my head was when I wrote that!