We’ve moved the pineapple. Initially I was worried about moving the plants when they were so large, but they needed sun that they weren’t getting in their original location: against the North side of the house. Without sun, they will never bloom; I found this out while trying to figure out what the plants were. I also found out that though it is really easy to grow pineapple from the top of any pineapple you buy in the store, it takes the plants two to three years before they flower and fruit. That’s a crazy investment for one primary and two secondary fruit crops before the plant is kaput.
It feels really great to look out on those derelict veggie beds and see something growing that I meant to put there, even if the pineapple plants came with the house.
I imagine that landscape overhauls are becoming more popular for people that can afford them, but most people inherit their landscaping from the previous owners of their homes. Older homes have years and years of decaying walkways and hidden bush and tree stumps that never get dug up or ground down when they are deemed expendable. This is what our yards are like.
I started with dreams of hauling off debris and carving out perfect pathways with brand new pavers and fencing. Then I sobered up. Inherited yards are not blank canvases, and mine came with loads of history that would be too expensive to ignore. For example, the fence surrounding the wide gate into the back yard was dry-stacked logs from trees felled by the previous owner. It was cool and we kind of liked it, until it fell down. Now it is a pile of work that laughs at us whenever we try to clean it up a little. As much as I wish all the logs would just disappear, they are raw material, and free raw material at that.
Another obstacle is that old landscaping starts to fall in on itself, grass reaches across walkways, pavers settle inches higher or lower than their fellows, flowers compete with weeds in their beds. The logs ended up being the perfect solution to put some designated areas back in my backyard.
Madagascar Periwinkle or Vinca Rosea grows like a weed in my yard and reminds me of my grandmother. I noticed that the vinca in one corner of the yard weren’t suffering the sudden death of their fellows in the front or anywhere else. Now, anytime I find a straggling vinca I move it here. I planted my Mexican Petunia in the back and it is liking the location, too. Incidentally, Mexican petunia is also a pest plant. All non hybrid forms spread rampantly through prolific seed pods. So you might say, I gave a corner of my yard to the weeds.
Here is where I laugh at myself and this is the story. I am dreaming of gardening lately and, of course, I had to do some research into native and hardy plants. While snipping a plant description my Evernote told me I had a similar note, namely one snipped from the Wikipedia page for Bryophyllum pinnatum.
So, way back when my mysterious alien plant could’ve been a Lychee tree seedling (in my mind anyway), I did some research on the leaves and found Kalanchoe pinnatum, related to the Mother of a Thousand Children, called cathedral bells by the USDA and Sweetheart plant by the University of Florida’s Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. Are you laughing at me with me yet? Because, apparently, I figured out what my mystery alien plant was a while ago only I didn’t know I did, or I just promptly forgot about it. I wonder what else is tucked away in my Evernote. All of my years of OneNote use are merged in there too.
The Wikipedia page has a few other names for my plant:
Bryophyllum pinnatum, also known as the Air Plant, Life Plant, Miracle Leaf, and Goethe Plant is a succulent plant native to Madagascar.
Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to call it. I think I like Goethe Plant the best.
A little over a year ago I found this plant on my porch. I thought my Mom had put it there, and I thought the little seedling was sprouting from the lychee nuts that we saved from a snack. As it grew, I figured better.
Lychee trees don’t sprout tendrils of roots from their dropped leaves; my plant does.
It got taller and taller, though is so spindly, that I have to tie it to keep it upright. And then it sprouted bunches after bunches of these pod thingys. When the sun hits them you can see shadowy figures inside.Continue reading Alien plant
