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Now...
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The other day one of our neighbors asked why, among all of the various tropicals in our yard, we had a single boxwood? And why some of the other plants seemed a bit out of place? I had to explain...
We purchased our little house in May of 2008 - which means we went through hurricane Ike. We didn't actually ride out the storm
and compared to many of our friends we had very little damage - but it was still a devastating experience. Our yard took the biggest hit and I can vividly remember how totally fried everything looked. But again - compared to the thousands of trees lost across the island we really didn't have much to complain about.
and compared to many of our friends we had very little damage - but it was still a devastating experience. Our yard took the biggest hit and I can vividly remember how totally fried everything looked. But again - compared to the thousands of trees lost across the island we really didn't have much to complain about.
As I dragged limbs and debris to the curb I would occasionally run across something "green." These plants were totally beat-up and wilted but they had survived the salt water drowning and were trying their best to recover. I watered them (once we got water) and did my best to nurture these survivors back to health.
Now fast forward to 2012, 3+ years after the storm. Scattered about the yard I've got these stupid Ike-plants that look totally out of place. In hindsight, I should have trashed them while cleaning up - but I just couldn't do it. In those weeks following the hurricane there were so many dead things around that the few living things took on special meaning. And now - 3 years later I'm still too sentimentally attached to give them the heave-ho.
I'm not the only rank sentimentalist on the island by a long shot. I sometimes wonder what visitors to Galveston think when they see some of the trees folks didn't have the heart to cut down. Limbs missing, no leaves, and most of the bark knocked off. These homeowners often rationalize their decision by saying things like - "I think it's looking better" or "you should have seen it right after the storm." Again - these trees should probably have been removed but at the time - people just couldn't deal with the loss.
So the next time you're looking at our yard - or some other Galveston Garden and you notice a plant or 2 totally out of place or an odd shaped tree with most of its branches gone, consider that these plants may be Ike-survivors that have earned their place in the landscape.
How about it? Do you have any Ike plants (or others) you simply can't part with?
