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Bougainvillea Birthday

Posted in Expat in Italy, Italy, Orvieto, Travel, Umbria, tagged 1988, Bougainvillea, Green Street San Francisco, home, little twig, nature, plants, travel on July 6, 2012| 14 Comments »

It was the summer of 1988. In commemoration of the birth of my son, I planted a small fuchsia bougainvillea in a planter just under our front window. The vine was scrawny and spindly, and the few flowers on it had fallen off, leaving only a sad green twig in the ground. I worried that this bougainvillea wouldn’t make it through the winter. Shortly thereafter we relocated across town, leaving the bougainvillea to fend for itself.

Last week on my way to meet a friend for lunch, I unexpectedly found myself in our old neighborhood and came upon our flat on Green Street. The exterior of the apartment hadn’t changed much over the years except for one thing…there was a luscious, gigantic bougainvillea climbing the side of the building. Amazingly, almost a quarter of a century later, this plant not only survived; it flourished.

Today marks the anniversary of the day, twenty-four years ago, when my son came into the world and when that little twig of a bougainvillea took root and began to grow. 1988 was a very good year for little boys and bougainvilleas.

by Toni DeBella

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