Worth Waiting

Some things are just worth waiting for.

Our yard is not that large, but it is becoming a forest. We own a corner lot on a canal leading out to the Gulf. It is in an area where as the land becomes more and more valuable people are beginning to have homes on land that is all house and no land.

I love our little piece of property. It has changed a lot since we've owned it. One road has gotten very busy, but we have a six foot privacy wall with vines and hedges on it. When the kids were small the yard was pretty bare and they had a wooden playset and a fairly safe, wide, grassy area to play in. Now, it's so overgrown with flowering plants, shrubs, trees and such, it is really like a small forest. Mike has foot paths to walk down and little seating areas. There is always something new growing out there.

I'm sure a lot of our neighbors view our yard with some distaste - the neighbors with the ficus cut into perfect circular shapes, when ours are wild and untamed, but many compliment us frequently. We try to keep the outside wall looking somewhat trimmed. The inside is our little secret.

We have a lot of unusual plants growing in the yard: Blueberries, that most people don't even think you can grow in Florida, various roses, frangipani, tomatoes, cucumbers, but finally, finally, the other day, one of the pineapples started! I'm so excited! They take forever.

I'll take pictures as it grows. I've been waiting for a few years for this.

Comments

[ricky]

That's awesome.

I live in a dumb and, I think, dumpy city. This morning, on my way to work, I noticed that I have a Turkey Hill coffee cup and an empty Sunbeam bread bag growing in my yard.

I breathlessly await their blooming.

[Ellen]

I've never watched a Turkey Hill coffee cup age, much less seen one, but, those Sunbeam bags... wait until you see THAT one at a mature state. It's pure heaven! After those colors fade and the plastic starts to whiten a bit. It takes years, but it's worth the wait. (Was it white bread? They're the best.)
Hint: They seem to grow best in your neighbor's yard.

[Mindy]

Heh. A few years ago, George was in the hospital for some kind of surgery (I'm a detestable stepdaughter; I can't remember what it was), and it was in the winter--because it was after my birthday.

Why do I remember that? Well, for my birthday he had this funky flower arrangement sent to my office that was in the shape of a birthday cake. It was AWFUL.

So, when he was in the hospital, I sent him a pineapple plant, with a big 'ol pineapple growing right out of the top. Picturing him carrying that thing home and putting it in the window of their tiny studio downtown make me chuckle for weeks.

Hey, you know what? This is not a comment, it's blog entry!

[nefarious]

It seems that the neighborhood kids are attempting to aide my horticultural efforts by planting Corona plants and Marlboro seedlings. I don't think they are sprouting yet, but they do seem to multiply.

[Ellen]

Don't know about the Marlboros, but that's how the Coronas grow - they multply - especially on weekend nights. In neighborhoods with teens.