Getting to know you.

Today, for only a short while, I was in complete bliss. I have driven by a local nursery a few times over the past couple of weeks, and I have been dying to go there. Now, why do I hesitate to use this type of phrasing? These are a grouping of words, formed into a phrase, of which we often don't give much thought to.


I decided to look up the phrasing, or the form of the word die, in which it is used. For my help I used Dictionary.com. It said that in this form, die is used as a verb; to desire or want keenly or greatly: I'm dying for a cup of coffee. Now I can go back to using the word, and have less worry about I am truly saying. I know that for some time, and obviously a little still today, words related to death stung me like a bee. When someone would use the word in casual conversation I would suddenly lose my train of thought, or the ability to follow theirs. I also often took the word's use quite personally. It often seemed to amaze me how insensitive people could be. I don't mean this in a purposeful way, just that they should have been better aware of what they were saying to me.


These days even my kids will make mention after someone has used words, or phrases, which brings our thoughts to the issue of death. They sometimes get angry that someone would say such things in my presence. I know that they are wanting to be sensitive to my feelings, and by doing so, they are able to discuss their ever evolving feelings about Michael's death, and about death in general.


Well, I appear to have been off on a tangent. Or, maybe the topic of gardening allowed me the opportunity to venture off in this way. Like many things in my life, I find gardening to be quite healing and therapeutic. I spend so much time looking at the various plants available at the nursery. I bring one plant over to another, stand back, consider how they will do next to one another, and what they will do for the aesthetics of my space, and of my mind.


All of the plants that I selected today are very different from the plants I had at home in San Francisco. Today I tried to select plants that could not only survive in hot weather, but flourish as well. I wanted plants that had small splashes of color. The non flowering large leaf plants on the right, in the first picture, are Plumeria Temple Trees. One will have beautiful white flowers, the other red. These are the type of flowers often used to make leis, or to set floating in a pond or pool. Just beautiful, and fragrant flowers. In some countries the plumeria is sometimes associated with ghosts and graveyards. They are often planted in cemetaries in the Philippines and Indonesia, and associated with temples in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. And here's something for Bev, plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, and simply dupe their pollinators. The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar.


I don't know the name of the pink flowering plants on the left, but was taken by the thick succulent branches and leaves, which lead up to the exquisite pink & white flowers


The other two that I combined into the small and wide pots were placed together because of the exotic look they had. The flowering plant, Lobelia, has deep red flowers that bloom throughout summer. It's leaves are green, but with touches of red to purple in them. The big leafy purple plant did not have it's name listed either, but I found it so pleasing, and calming.





This is one of my favorite plants, Aeonium arboreum 'zwartkop.' In other words, dark purple foliage. I love the deep chocolaty purple color. It is also called the black rose plant, but it is obviously not a rose, but rather a succulent, evergreen perennial.






And, last but not least, is the Cyperus Papyrus, also nicknamed the Lyon's Tail, is what sits next to my Buddha. It's an interesting plant, in that it originates from Egypt, and was used to make papyrus obviously, but it's long reeds were also used to make boats. I myself found the plant to appear light, and elegant. I also loved it's simplicity.

Well, tonight was a night of tangents. I didn't expect to go into such detail about my chosen plants. I think I did this for my own sake. I would like to really know more about the plants I choose to use, their names, and understand how they need to be treated. Perhaps this is what we all want, and deserve, from each other. I want people to stop, take notice of me, and try to understand who I am. I want to be able to do the same in kind.