Well, today is my final day with Budd. He has grown significantly and is now much taller than I am.
He has not yet bloomed, but has very obvious buds - much more than when I first met him and didn't even think he would bloom.
Many of the surrounding flowers have died and gone to seed, especially the vetch with its popping seed pods and the fireweed turning to airborne fluff.
This project has given me a sense of the passage of time that I don't normally get from my classes. I often find myself wondering when it started to be spring or summer, having completely missed the transitions. The seasons pass by without much of a thought.
Continuing to watch Budd and Leia, I would eventually see their flowers dry and shrivel up, revealing whatever kind of seed pod it is they make. The leaves would die off and they may even finally be cut down by UBC to prepare for the winter. I can see the past and future of this plant in its branches, leaves and flower buds. How it got here and the potential it has to spread more little buddlejas. It can help feed insects and birds, shade smaller plants and animals, and clean the air for all of us.
It is related to this place - to the wind and rain and concrete. Everything needed to work in just the right way for this plant to end up here. It is beautiful and random but also not - the plant is disrespected, cut, trampled and torn. But it's still here and will live on. I hope to be able to say the same for many other plants in my life.
He has not yet bloomed, but has very obvious buds - much more than when I first met him and didn't even think he would bloom.
Many of the surrounding flowers have died and gone to seed, especially the vetch with its popping seed pods and the fireweed turning to airborne fluff.
This project has given me a sense of the passage of time that I don't normally get from my classes. I often find myself wondering when it started to be spring or summer, having completely missed the transitions. The seasons pass by without much of a thought.
Continuing to watch Budd and Leia, I would eventually see their flowers dry and shrivel up, revealing whatever kind of seed pod it is they make. The leaves would die off and they may even finally be cut down by UBC to prepare for the winter. I can see the past and future of this plant in its branches, leaves and flower buds. How it got here and the potential it has to spread more little buddlejas. It can help feed insects and birds, shade smaller plants and animals, and clean the air for all of us.
It is related to this place - to the wind and rain and concrete. Everything needed to work in just the right way for this plant to end up here. It is beautiful and random but also not - the plant is disrespected, cut, trampled and torn. But it's still here and will live on. I hope to be able to say the same for many other plants in my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment