Life is such a funny thing. The saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” is very true. When I was a young man living in south Texas, all I wanted was to grow cherry trees. I told myself I would have an entire orchard of cherry trees some day. I promised myself I would have wonderful days walking under swaying boughs filled with cherry blossoms. Every gust of wind would send a soft shower of petals down upon me. I love the look of cherry trees, and I love the smell of cherry blossoms and I love to eat cherries. But of course, cherry trees do not do well in South Texas. It’s too hot, and even though I absolutely love the beach, the salt in the air is not good for cherry trees either. Fast forward a couple of decades and I finally live in a place that is absolutely perfect for cherry trees! I can now have the orchard of my dreams…except that now…I have found Plumeria trees. The plumeria (also known as Frangipani) is the flowering tree that has the iconic Hawaiian flower. The overpowering smell of flowers you smell when you get off the plane in Hawaii is from the Plumeria forests on the island.
“Well Mr. Jack,” I can hear you asking, “why don’t you just plant both trees?”
Ahh were it that simple my dear reader. You see, the Plumeria tree is native to very high temperature climates. Most of them (there are many, many varieties) also prefer salt in the air (like in Hawaii…or South Texas…). So now I live in a climate that has a suitable winter for cherry trees to flourish in, but I can’t have a Plumeria outside because a frost would kill it.
“Poor Mr. Jack. Does that mean you don’t have any Plumeria trees?”
No, no my friend. I actually ordered some Plumeria seeds from Etsy and planted them and got about 30 of them to sprout! So I did what any other person would do in my situation. I converted my basement into an indoor garden full of LED Growlights so I can raise my little Frangipani’s until I can build my dream (heated) greenhouse. Then I can plant all my Plumeria in the ground in a protected greenhouse, and grow my cherry tree orchard outside of my greenhouse so I can have the best of both worlds! I also plan to plant some of my other favorite plants in my greenhouse. Like tropical Hibiscus and Australian fern trees. And I can set up a pretty waterfall in my greenhouse. Oh and I plan to plant lots of pines on the far side of the cherry tree orchard and set up windchimes in the woods so when the wind blows it will make a symphony. I love the Corinthian wind chimes, I have had one of the smaller ones for years and years and it still makes the most amazing sound when the wind blows. Well, it’s 3:35 AM right now and I should get to bed. I think I’ll visit my dream garden in my…well…dreams. So I hope you all have a wonderful night (or day depending on when you are reading this). Have a Blessed time and I’ll see you all later. Good night!
