Stop and take some cuttings from the flowers. I made two trips down the street in an effort to put a pace to the neighbor who left the nice note in my mailbox. The first time carrying a couple Hibiscus flowers which I left threaded in her wreath of grapes on her front door. The second time carrying her postcard (front | back) in hand I knocked on the door and a middle-aged woman opened it. Geraldine. There were noisy gardeners doing a mow and blow job on the lawn and landscaping so she invited me into her home. A big fat yellow cat on the sofa and an elderly woman sitting at the kitchen table. Geraldine asked me “Do you know Jane? I take care of her.” Geraldine explains that she takes care of Jane who is 84 years old and has dementia. Spends several hours a day with her. Jane didn't even know Geraldine's name on the day I visited. Geraldine and I chatted a while. She's lived in Chile, Argentina and Europe. When asked if she was from any of these places she replied, “No, Pasadena.”
We walked to my house and examined the hibiscus plant. She's in some horticultural club or group and was so happy that I'd let her have her way with my Hibiscus bush. “Do you know what you have there, Allan?” she asked. “This is really special and amazing.” We chatted about neighbors, dogs, plants and gardens. She's going to take her cuttings Wednesday late afternoon so she can be prepared to do her magic to create Hibiscus offspring from my “amazing” and “special” plant. We both smiled. She went back to Jane. I returned to my marketing project.
photo: a recent Hibiscus bloom from the bush in my front yard. Hard to reference the size of this amazing flower — it's 7″ inches across. I shot this morning at 9:50 — click on image for larger view.
Sunday morning reading: Mollusk | Plasticbag | Smart Mobs
