"Please take some," She said, as She does every time that I visit Her.
She is old. She recently had a terrible infection that caused Her to act quite strangely and caused us to wonder if She had developed dementia or Alzheimers.
But yesterday, She was Her normal self, offering me flowers from Her garden.
Her first gift was two apple tree seedlings, years ago. Last year, one of them bore fruit for the first time.
Earlier this year, She offered me sprigs of flowering almond --- something She grew up with in the Shenandoah Valley, She said.
"Please take some," She said, pointing a finger towards some tall and lovely plants crowding into the space by Her front door.
She called it Valencia.
I found the perfect spot for it by the low wall next to my carport.
But none of my books mention a flower by this name, and an Internet search found nothing, either.
Perhaps it is a hybrid name or I heard Her wrong.
Nonetheless, it is beautiful.
Thank You, my friend. Stay with us, please, a few more years.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A gift
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12 comments:
Gardening and 'how to' is a gift.
Especially when you get a seedling that can produce fruit.
"Please take some" sounds great. What a lovely gesture.
Is that the plant? I'd have to see a bit more of it (like the leaves/plant) but it looks like a variety of Veronica.
I love those planting gifts. They are truly gifts of love.
Ela: I agree. And She is a lovely person, who has done much good in Her long life.
Claudia: Yes, that's the plant. Almost two feet tall. Does Veronica get that big? The tubular flowers might hint at it being in the mint family like Veronica.
I'm sorry I haven't commented in Your grove lately. Thanks for visiting Isis anyway.
... figwort family, not mint.
http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/t-1090.html
I could be wrong, but I think what you have is Physostegia, or Obedient Plant. Very likely, Valencia is the cultivar name it had when your friend bought it.
The link I added at the top is for a book called Passalong Plants. It is a must for gardeners and nice people that say 'take some'.
I love gardeners like her. A kiss to her from me, please.
Put Physostegia in the Google search box, then click "images", and all sorts of pics come up.
wonderful entry! you are such the big hearted one.
:hugs:
Leslie: I followed up on Your suggestion. Sure looks like physostegia is the correct name.
I just need to go home and bend the flowers to be sure!
It's an American native, too, which is always a plus.
Sounds like you are both lucky to be friends....
right on
the obedient plant was my first ID choice too
wow.. I'm actually touched by this...:-)
You've a great heart... and it's amazing...:-)
Good to know you atleast on-line..:-)
There are a lot of varieties of Veronica. We have a weed here that's called "Blue Bells" or something like that. It has flowers like that but I'd have to see the leaves.
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