June 25, 2007
My red Japanese Maple…
I consider myself a fairly good gardener. I have no garden per se, but I have a tons of clippings I took from my parents house scattered around the house in pots and I’ve grown them from clippings to fairly accomplished plants. They flower when appropriate and I kill about one in ten a year – seems about right. I’ve also gone as far as growing the tops or seeds of practically every vegetable I’ve either eaten or found growing itself when I forget to eat it… I have a pineapple plant, a couple of avocado trees and even a straggly little onion plant. Each spring I plant tomatoes and various other vegetables from seed or what-have-you in containers outside and I eat fairly well come harvest. There is nothing like tomatoes and basil you grew yourself with a little olive oil – can’t wait to use the stuff I picked up in Spain for this… however, I also have a little red Japanese maple tree.
I acquired the maple one spring day when walking through my parents’ garden. The idea was that some day I’d have a place to plant the tree and wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a red maple – they cost upwards of $100 for a decent sized one in the garden shop and at my parents’ there are actually too many to count. I would have a lasting reminder of the home they had for many years. But the little sucker is darned near killing me as I wait to grow up and have that place to plant it!
Each winter, I bring the little fella inside to avoid freezing the roots and killing it off. He loses all of his leaves and plays dead. He tries to torture me into thinking I’ve killed him. I debate chucking him and giving up. It’s very much like my relationships (I think I remember having one…) I spend many months looking at the splendor and revelling in the glory of if all only to think half way through the winter that I should just give up and start with another fella. I generally do when we’re not talking about leaves and bark…
But today I looked outside and saw my little guy in all his magnificance. He truly is a beautiful tree who one day will perhaps shadow my children from the sun and grace my lawn with all of his splendor… but until then, I just wanna strangle the little fella for making me work at it!
And I wonder why I’m single?
becki325 said,
June 26, 2007 at 1:00 pm
You have an avocado tree? I thought they grew in the ground. WOW.