I have lived in my house for about 18 years now, and I have these bushes here that have been there way longer than that.  I have no real idea what these are, and for the most part they are nice and green.

They do bloom once a year though, and are very pretty.  For about 15 minutes.  Or so it seems.  And today was the day!  The bloom is very short, but nice.  But would it be too much to ask for a longer bloom. 

And who the made the decision all those decades ago.  "Hey honey, let's plant something that's a major focal point of the house that blooms about 15 minutes a year?"   "OK, sounds great..." 

I guess I should be thankful for the pretty bloom and enjoy the colors....for about 10 more minutes.  Good thing I was home.