Gardening is a lesson in hope. What we had on our property, before the hurricanes precipitated our horrid landslide, was a verdant green slope of rainforest. Thanks to Maria and what we had to do afterwards, much of that expanse of property was converted into an ugly slash of rock, debris, and concrete. It has been an unsightly and stark reminder of woe. A vivid image of our worry and discouragement. Now that the construction on the retaining walls is complete, we’ve embarked on a mission to reclaim the area for beauty. Easily said, lots of sweat and blisters to attain. But. On Friday and Saturday, Karl and I toiled – and it was a lot of toil – to smooth out one of the terraces that was created between two of our three new retaining walls. The first job was to remove the construction detritus – used nails, pieces of concrete forms, slags of concrete as well as dead wood and branches. Next up was working with rake and shovel and hoe to smooth the area out and jettison or move the biggest rocks. (The whole area is mostly rock, but the biggest ones had to be dealt with!) Then began the fun part: a trip to the plant store to buy plants, then back to the terrace to get them in the ground.
I wasn’t kidding about the rocky soil!
Since the terrace faces the west and is subject to intense heat and sun, we decided to plant agave. We got variegated ones and also a type of agave called a century plant – which flowers once every twenty five years and then promptly dies (however, they leave behind progeny to continue their legacy so all will be well even then!). Their hearty souls will fill in the terrace with green, and with any luck they will thrive and grow to their expected 5-7 feet tall (and equal width) expectations. If all goes according to plan, they will accomplish this with very little attention or direction from us. Yay! For now, they are little, under a foot tall and wide, but we have high hopes for them. Okay, I’ll admit that I have prayed for them. I’m pretty sure God shakes his head a little when He hears my whispered prayers for safety, protection and blessing on a plant, but I also have no doubt that His love extends to his herbal creations and that He loves gardens at least as much as I do.
My new century plant.
As sort of an afterthought, because I had a little room left on that terrace, I also planted two frangipani cuttings that my friend Barb gave me. To call them cuttings is generous. They are just bare sticks with a few funny looking points at the top. I have high hopes for these little guys though, because, if they grow, they will become trees that produce amazing, sweet smelling flowers. The coolest part about frangipanis, though, is that I won’t have to wait for the entire tree before I can enjoy the flowers, because they bloom quickly. I know this for a fact because last year about this time, I planted two other cuttings. In just a year, one has grown to about four feet high and is currently topped with a hat of white flowers with happy yellow centers. The other, which I stuck in the ground by our driveway and I don’t give as much care to, has only grown about six inches, but it is adorned right now with gorgeous pink flowers. So. Hope abounds. The danger of our house sliding down off this hill has been (we hope!) averted, and a blank canvas awaits our labor and vision. One terrace is done, two more need our attention. I’ll keep you posted.
How can something so not pretty makes such pretty flowers?
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