My Rosemary - The Plant Snob
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
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| Hibiscus trionum August 23 2017 |
My mother was a snob. She often would say to me in her
precise Castilian, “Hay poca gente fina
como nosotros.” This roughly translates as, “There are few as refined people as we are.”
When I married Rosemary my mother instantly loved her.
Perhaps it was because she was a quiet and introspective Canadian who happened to
also speak Spanish and French. With her wonderful slim body Rosemary always
looked elegant.
I have no idea how a person not related by blood to another
could possibly inherit from her. And Rosemary did. Like my mother Rosemary has
always had beautiful legs. Rosemary also inherited my mother’s ability to
handle money under a strict budget.
But best of all like my mother, my Rosemary is a snob. In
particular she is a plant snob.
For many years while we gardened in our Kerrisdale home,
she eschewed plants that did not have blue or white flowers. It wasn’t until
around 1992 that she fell for my Rosa ‘Westerland’
(she of synthetic apricot jam scent). Westerland was and is a brilliant orange!
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| Hosta 'Marilyn' August 20 2017 |
A few years later as houses were being torn down right and left Rosemary and I
would “liberate” plants in the middle of the night equipped with a wheelbarrow,
a spade and a flashlight. One such liberation was a rose that came from the
nearby street of Cartier so we called the rose (that had yet to bloom) Rosa ‘Cartier’.
It bloomed a lurid orange/red. When Select Roses Brad Jalbert visited our
garden he looked at the red/orange wonder and said, “I never would have thought
that you and Rosemary would have Rosa ‘All that Jazz’ in your garden." Rosemary
came to love those two orange roses and her snobbishness declined a tad.
For years we had two different and small hibiscus trees that were both
blue. She would have never tolerated the red Hibiscus sabdariffay from
which its sepals contribute to make the wonderful drink (served ice cold) Agua
de Jamaica that is so popular in Mexico at children’s birthday parties.
But here we have my snobbish wife purchasing a small
Hibiscus trionum which has creamy yellow flowers. What is most unusual is that
the new flowers open in the morning and are long gone by the next. The plant
has the delightful popular name of Flower-of-an-hour.
Because or Kitsilano garden is small I have more time and
less area to observe my plants. One in particular is a little gold (yellow or
chartreuse, take your pick) called Hosta ‘Marilyn’.
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| Hosta 'Marilyn' August 20 2017 |
When our granddaughter Rebecca accompanied us to a hosta
convention in Washington DC (she was 8) we were taking a rapid transit train.
In our car was a woman that we recognized as being a person who was at that
convention. To brag Rebecca told the woman, "My grandfather has Hosta ‘ June’.
The woman countered with, “I have Hosta ‘Emily Dickinson’. From there to our
delighted horror the two went after each other with the names of female hostas,
Hosta ‘Janet’and Hosta ‘Marilyn’ and so on.
In the big garden Hosta 'Marilyn' was almost invisible in
little sun and surrounded by big plants. Here in Kits she is glorious in her
pot. Just a few days ago I spotted her elegant flowers.
Rebecca has many avenues to grow up to be a mature and
snobbish woman!
The making of a snob
A visit from the plant snobs
The making of a snob
A visit from the plant snobs
