365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Thursday, May 7, 2020
Bergenia, Pigsqueak
Day 207: Yes, it's pink. So why do I keep it around? Let's back up to the point when I first moved into my current home a little over thirty years ago. The flower beds had been let go and were entirely grassed over, and there was very little evidence that they had ever held "tame" plants. A few struggled through the matted grass: columbine, an Oriental poppy, a peony, and something I felt certain was delphinium. Between the house and garage was another area which I dubbed the "Barren Wasteland," occupied primarily by the pit in which the captive-air tank for my well resides. The soil surrounding it was too poor even to support grass. However, there was one exception: a plant with large leathery leaves which made a squeaky noise if rubbed together, as I discovered when I tried to dig them up to move to a better site. They also had roots anchored on the opposite side of the globe, so the relocation project was abandoned almost before it was begun, and the squeaky-leaved plant was allowed to remain, happy as Larry among the rocks and gritty earth. Eventually, from amid the leaves, a flower stalk arose, bearing a panicle of pink...ugh!...flared bells. Having already had the experience of trying to dig it out, I decided to let it remain. I don't see the Barren Wasteland unless I go out to the garage, and at least it provided some colour. It was some time later that I finally identified it as Bergenia, a semi-succulent perennial which also goes by the common name Pigsqueak. Ah, the squeaky leaves! Suddenly, this persistent pink plant had shown a charm to redeem itself, if only that it allows me to say "Pigsqueak!" in a silly voice as I walk past.
Labels:
Barren Wasteland,
Bergenia,
gardening,
Pigsqueak
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