GINKGO

... at the night markets
when the gypsies come to town
my friends and I watch the drumming and the fire twirlers
and for some reason find hilarity in our own lack of circus skill
or indeed dexterity with the faming hoop.
Last night we were watching and describing each other our own
hidden talents, mine being really hidden, like ovulating
H's being also hidden, pelvic floor exercises...


But last night alas the fire twirlers were ranked second best
to our new friend
the Ginkgo bonsai tree
a most beautiful thing.

My friend H has had her eye on it for a while now
and she finally saved up enough money and made it her own.
The store owner , the father of succulents and carer of bonsai
looked a little sad saying good bye
for this tree is indeed a rare beauty.

This leaf broke off our friend
and she gave it to me
when I held it up to my face I actually got a rush of blood to my head
and a flutter in my heart.

Wikipedia says this:
Extreme examples of the Ginkgo's tenacity may be seen in Hiroshima, Japan, where six trees growing between 1–2 km from the 1945 atom bomb explosion were among the few living things in the area to survive the blast. While almost all other plants (and animals) in the area were destroyed, the ginkgos, though charred, survived and were soon healthy again. The trees are alive to this day.

A living fossil.

A brief history of plants

This 'Mother in laws tongue'
was planted in honour of Frank
who we brought the shop off.
He was the long term and original owner of
'Elwood Health and Bulk',
the store that we turned into
the General store.
He was notorious for his caustic comments
and swearing vocabulary.
It was the first thing I moved in when we took the reigns..



This water plant
belonged to Karen,
the first person we employed.
She left it in my care while she went of to Chile
and now she lives in Hobart.



This little one was also Karen's.
It lived in her bathroom
and it just thrives in the shops loo.



This lucky jade was Benn's.
He is in Adelaide and we miss him
and his Tom's drop mouvedre,
a favorite organic red
made by his dad.



This little guy was Katie's
she is a dancer
who now lives in Belgium.
She just had her first baby.



This beauty is from when I lived with Sarah the social worker.
It sits on the bench
and catches water from the leaking roof that never gets fixed.



Sarah and I both have one of these desert plants
so that where ever we are
we will always have evidence of our time when we lived together.



The big aloe at the back was given to me for my 30th birthday
from Megan and Craig who own 'Red Dog 3' the clothing store 3 shops down.

The aloe at the front are a mixture from Helen
and Korshed.

The jade is from when Tony and I had a screen printing business
it sat on our warehouse windowsill.

They all sit together
in the sun
and share watering stories.



These aloe belonged to Korshed.
Before she died,
she gave each of us in the store a cutting
along with a special object.
I have her amber beads
a piece of her hair is wound around one of the links.



Jacq gave this passionfruit vine
to Tony to plant where we want to put the outside bench wall.
We don't have council permission yet
so it waits...



This pink bromeliad
was purchased at a garage sale many years ago
the three little girls that sold it to me
told me how to look after it.
They were moving out of the area to the country.

It flowers once a year
the same time every year
which would be when the girls and their family
moved to the country.



When Tony's dad died
Victoria planted these flowers
in his backyard while he was at the funeral..



and Nada gave Tony a jasmine plant
when his mum died
with out knowing it was his mother's favorite plant.
I don't have a photo of it
but it smells divine.