Aeonium vs. Uprooting

By débora Ewing
One day I will have an all-black garden. This is my favorite, Aeonium Schwarzkopf.

 I bought a plant of this variety on eBay, long back, and it died. So I bought another one from a Craigslist ad while I was vacationing in Manhattan Beach. That one died, too.

I got one last spring at Al and Mari's house in Sun Valley. I researched and followed all the standard advice, but it was dying, too. It looked like a Q-Tip and all but about six of the black leaves had fallen off. I almost threw it away, but instead I followed my own advice and ignored it. I left it out in the Virginia monsoons all summer and just didn't even look, and it happened.

It's about 4" across now. It's happy.

I recently made contact with an old friend who'd broken up with me. When I wrote back to her, I told her this: I will take root again, but not here.

I will not die in Annandale. This place is not my home. Perhaps I do protest too much, but still. I am going to try and take my own advice and ignore myself for a couple of months. I will make no assumptions.

Things secretly grow when we make an effort to plant them.

Comments

  1. MariMonday, 05 February, 2018

    Your home is the World, Deb.

    ReplyDelete
  2. beezknezFriday, 20 March, 2020

    This
    Is so damn good man your wisdom here speaks volumes 👏🐝💛🌹

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. débora EwingFriday, 20 March, 2020

      Thanks so much, Beez! I never really know if I'm making sense. It's so edifying to know I am, to at least somebody.

      Delete

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