It was yesterday’s pot, last year’s soil, unplanted, and left to thought.
I forgot the flower pot this spring and there it stood – waiting. Occasionally I thought about what might flourish in that soil filled container in the hot, desert-like conditions of a windy deck. But quite simply I never got around to doing anything and planned to empty the pot and store it in the garage.
Awaiting some action, the pot of old soil just stood there looking empty and forlorn.
Spring was glorious but suddenly it was summer when I noticed a little green sprout – a so-called volunteer.
“Maybe it will be a magnificent flower,” I thought.
It turned out the baby green thing is a Tulip Poplar, a tree that grows to 80 to 100 feet tall with show-off blooms of tulip shaped flowers. There is a stand of
these trees at the edge of the property, no doubt watching over little “Toolip”. Her leaves are precisely the same and that’s how I recognized the sprout.
I have no heart to kill such a brave and hearty volunteer so Toolip is still growing in her pot.
She requires almost no attention but I tend to “mother” her anyway.
She is healthy and green.
I talk to her and she seems to understand (hopefully no one else is listening).
She is there – always there, and somehow makes me smile.
Perhaps when she is a plantable sapling size or looking ready for more soil, I will find a more permanent place.
But for now I am Toolip’s volunteer Mother and she is temporarily mine.
I get attached to volunteers too. They are so scrappy with such a will to make it.
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She is beautiful!
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Toolip would love you too Kate! I can tell you are a nurturer.
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LOL! I’m so glad you think so Cindy. This is “motherly” pride talking of course.
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Well, at least Toolip is a tree. All that ever grows in my untended, unplanned pots are hearty weeds. And they’re not even cute like Toolip. 😉
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Oh, sweet post, Dor. Love at first sight, to be sure!
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That feisty, little plant is lucky its seed landed where it did. With your help, may Toolip have many beautiful flowers as it grows. 😉
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I am hoping for it Judy and it has become my daily obsession to check Toolip’s progress. 🙂
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Wow, my mother does that: she talks to her plants and they listen to her and thrive. She greets them every morning and compliments them, and they seem to love it. 🙂
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I love a plant that doesn’t require a lot of attention. She’s beautiful, Dor! Obviously you’ve got a green thumb. 🙂
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It is just beautiful. Tulip Poplars are such happy trees. Seems one has decided to adopt YOU. Great post! WG
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They say plants love music too. 🙂
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More like a brown thumb Jill…. but this little tree seeded itself and mostly takes care of itself. I only water it in a drought. 🙂
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And I am enjoying being adopted woodlandgnome! So the tree and I are both happy. 🙂
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My pots are weedbeds too Cindy – except for this one. I think it is a message of some kind.
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Thanks Eliza. A volunteer looking for a volunteer – Toolip and I are a perfect match indeed.
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They are beautiful trees. I hope this little one will grow up to be a beauty. She’s awfully cute!
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🙂 A fine state of affairs-
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Volunteers are some of my favorite things in the garden. I try to always let them be whether they disrupt some plan of mine or not. Very nice, Dor.
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What a delightful surprise! I love when nature gives us such beautiful unexpected gifts.
When we were married spring of last year I saved the outdoor arrangements and put them in the garden. Included in the arrangements were stems of Curly Willow. In the fall I put the pots in the garage for recycling. The Curly Willow stems would not come out of the pot so I left them. The other flowers were duly composted.
Imagine my surprise when I went into the garage in the spring only to find the Curly Willow had taken root in the pot, overwintered without watering and was already sprouting shoots! This after the bitterest and longest winter we’ve had in years.
The Curly Willow was transplanted into another pot and is happily ensconced by the bubble rock ~ a beautiful reminder of our happy day.
Hmmm … maybe I should post about this. 😉
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Tulip Poplar. I’ve never heard of such a tree. The flowers are gorgeous. I hope you enjoy many glorious years with your adopted tree. 🙂
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Don’t you just love it Dorann when things sort of pop up in empty container gardens – last year purple petunia’s magically showed up and they were the love of my garden the whole season. Take care of your Toolip, she’s loving you back!
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It is hard to abort those baby plants, isn’t it? Just enjoy it!
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I just love “volunteers” — I find myself smiling each time I discover one!
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I agree Patti, she’s awfully cute, and seems to be strong and eager to reach for the sky.
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Thanks Barbara. This little Toolip planted herself right in the middle of the pot as if to say, “I’m home!” There is no way I will disrupt her plan.
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Oh, you should definitely write out the whole story of your Curly Willow Dorothy! It’s a beautiful memory of the beginning of your marriage and the first stages taking root for the future. I love it and thanks so much for sharing.
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I remember the volunteer impatiens and what a joy they were (like your petunias) and so it goes for the most hardy who come back for another year. Toolip is the first tree I’ve known who decided to take root in my life. Thanks Mary.
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Right coastalcrone! This baby tree is already a joy.
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And you have so many thriving things in your garden and your life Dianna. I am thinking of the wildlife volunteers who love you so, and all the wonderful people who surround you.
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That’s sweet, Dor. Thank you! I am VERY blessed!
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🙂
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