I am working on a “Weeds” post, so I have been taking pictures of all my weeds.
You will love this when it’s done. It has song lyrics.
While I was out lamenting the success of all the pesky weeds,
I also took pictures of lovely plants that I did not plant. At least not on purpose.
Here are some serendipitous surprises.
Is there an elephant in the garden room?
An elephant ear that is.
There are many reasons why I love these plants.
I love how their leaves catch the breeze.
It looks like a party with each leaf doing its own dance.
I love how the midrib of the leaf channels water down below,
like a good tropical plant should.
Each leaf has a different color pattern,
even the non-variegated kind.
Their venation is an architectural marvel.
The huge leaf stands out from the stem
like an
umbrella on its handle.
Now that you love them, too.
Let me bend your ear and tell you their secrets.
Their Latin name is Colocasia esculenta.
They grow from Taro corms, not bulbs.
They like water and will even do well
in the shallow edge of a pond.
They must be dug in the fall after the stem freezes and bends over.
If you leave them out for the winter, the parent will turn to pink mush.
Pups may survive and grow from the dead parent corm.
These will come up in June or July.
Friends, Romans, countrymen…
Follow the Flower!
They have come from a land of shifting sand.
Where people flee across borders to live in tents,
Where battles are fought and drones are flown,
There is no safety or certainty.
The man came first to earn and learn on this safe soil.
He studied the language,
he worked long days,
he filled out forms.
Two years went by. The boy grew older.
Now FINALLY his family is here.
We must celebrate their arrival.
We will have a cook-out,
with cookies and watermelon.
We will make some Jazar Halwa
with ingredients familiar to them, though strange to us
.
Will the flash and bang of our fireworks scare them?
Or will they delight in the sparkling colors
of red, white and blue
On this safe soil.
Happy July 4th
CELEBRATE YOUR FREEDOM.
Follow the Flower!
floweralley 