By the way - if any of you would like to post something on my blog (especially those few of you who do not have their own blog), you are very welcome to get in touch with me via email; the address in on my profile.
And now, for something completely different:
Our Marriage Flower
(written by my Mum)
Nearly 50 years ago, Hibiscus plants were in Germany something very rare and exotic. You couldn't buy them everywhere in supermarkets like today.
My sister in law, who used to spend holidays in southern European countries such as Italy, Greece or Spain, brought one plant with her and made offshoots from it.
So we came to a small, about 30 cm high Hibiscus flower in a pot. We loved it!
Then we moved from a little village on the Swabian Alb to another little village near the river Rhine. The Hibiscus grew, I always looked well after it, watered and fertilised it, and freed it of lice when necessary. Soon it needed a bigger pot.
Then we moved again - the Hibiscus moved with us, into the town we still live in, but another place than now.
Hibiscus grew - needed a new pot. Every summer we set it outside on our terrace, in winter it came in, lost all its leaves, I cut the twigs back, it didn't look very beautiful then.
But in spring it grew again, made blossoms, got outside.
Then we moved again, in the same town, but into the flat we still live in (now since 24 years). Hibiscus went with us: Needed a bigger pot every few years, and every summer we enjoy it on our balcony, also looking at it from inside.
Fortunately we have a space in the staircase, so we can take it indoors, when autumn and cold nights and days are coming.
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| The Hibiscus |
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| Some of the other flowers on the balcony |
So it has got now almost as old as our marriage, we consider it a symbol for it, it flowers mostly, but sometimes it doesn't look so pretty, but always recovers and gives us a lot of pleasure. We really hope it will last for a long time to come, both our marriage and our Hibiscus.
- - - End of guest post - - -
Thank you, Mum! This was beautiful and touching. Of course, I remember the Hibiscus as having been there always - it must be nearly as old as I.
My parents were married in 1965, I was born in 1968, and I guess the Hibiscus came to live with us no later than 1971, when it was already a few years old.
Its highest flower now reaches taller than I, and it has a proper wooden stem like a tree.
What a lovely and appropriate symbol for a marriage!
Addendum:
My Mum sent me this picture of the Hibiscus' stem today:
That's really moving! May your Mum and Dad's marriage and their Hibiscus continue to bloom.
ReplyDeleteThank you, John - I hope that, too!
DeleteThank you, Scriptor Senex, wo do hope, too!
DeleteHello Meike's Mother and Meike:
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful story and one which appeals to us enormously. We love the idea of this single plant being nurtured throughout all of the years and to reward you each summer with such a mass of flower as seen in your photograph. You must, indeed, have very 'green' fingers. Long may it continue to give you pleasure.
Hello Jane and Lance,
Deleteboth my parents are very good with plants; strange how none of that was passed on to me :-) I have "black" fingers instead of green ones and manage to involuntarily kill off almost any plant that has ever been brought into my flat.
Thank you, Jane and Lance Hattatt,
Deleteit is funny, we only have the "green fingers" with outdoor-plants, indoor they don't grow very well.
Such a beautiful hibiscus, and such a wonderful marriage. A great story! Meike, the flower may be just your age. Talking of living in a village in the Swabian Alb reminds me of hikes my husband and I used to take around Sonnenfels near Reutlingen.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristi!
DeleteIt wasn't very far from Reutlingen where we used to live back then... I am sure my parents know exaactly where Sonnenfels is.
Hi Kristi,
Deleteof course we know Sonnenfels, a pretty place for hiking. And Reutlingen is a beautiful old town with a lot of culture, art-expositions and good gastronomy.
What a beautiful post with that beautiful hibiscus! And I love that you consider it a symbol of your marriage. Just like anything, the care invested into it, realy shows. :)
ReplyDeleteI also love the flowers on your balcony. I would be out there with them all the time!
Kay, my parents used to have almost all their meals out on the balcony for years, but nowadays, they spend such a lot of time on their lovely allotment, the balcony is not that "necessary" anymore. Nonetheless it is always beautifully kept with flowers in spring and summer and Christmas lights in winter.
DeleteThat's true, the balcony belongs to the flat as another room.
DeleteYou know I LOVE the allotment and yes, THAT is where I would spend as much time as possible. Just wondering, since it is so beautiful, does it have a name? In other words, in England, people will sometimes name their house, don't they? Their allotment is so beautiful, I wonder if it should not have a name, all its own?
DeleteAnd I still love the idea of looking out upon that balcony, especially filled with the flowers in warm weather and Christmas lights in cold weather!
It doesn't actually have a name, no. People here in Germany give names to their gardens and houses very rarely.
DeleteMy mother-in-law in England, she lives in Rose Cottage, a very appropriate name!
What a lovely story. And congratulations to your parents on their long and happy marriage.
ReplyDeleteThe hibiscus is the state flower for the State of Hawaii, and comes in several different colours. The first time I saw all the beautiful flowers -- including gardenias -- growing outside, outside our hotel in Hawaii, I was very impressed. But unlike your mum, I've never had very good luck with them indoors. So she is to be commended for her gardening skills too.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story. xox Carol
Thank you, Carol, I didn't know that about the hibiscus!
DeleteThe one my parents have would probably not be so thriving if it weren't kept outdoors for most of the year. It only lives indoors when it gets really cold.
Hello Carol,
Deletethanks for your kind comment. I think, the hibiscus is used to our weather, since it "lives" here for such a long time. In automn it even doesn't matter, when it is chilly and we forgot it for one night to put indoor.
Dear Meike,
ReplyDeleteThis is to let you know that you now have the Sunshine Award! Look at my post for today! (And Meike's Mum, I meant to you tell you that I can't wait until it is cooler so that I may wear your lovely knitted socks!)
Love,
KAY
Thank you, Kay!
DeleteIt is already chilly enough here for me to wear my socks, at least for mornings and nights, instead of slippers...
Have you seen the new additions my Mum has made to her Etsy shop?
Hello Kay,
Deletethank you. I think, the cold days will come very soon...
So sweet! And a gorgeous plant! Sorry your summer wasn't hot enough. We had heat wave after heat wave and no rain so I'm looking forward to cooler weather...
ReplyDeleteSonia, thank you! Well, it all seems a bit unevenly distributed this year, weather-wise, I mean.
DeleteI am so impressed - what a lot of tender care that hibiscus has had. Because they are in many ways rather tender plants. Not that I'm any authority on gardening, I'm afraid, so what I really mean is that it would be beyond me to keep one that long!
DeleteI like the idea that your marriage has also had some tender looking after so that it survives in good health.
Thank you for the nice post.
Thank you, Sonia and Jenny Woolf, for your kind comments.
DeleteJenny, I am glad you like this post - I hope that all the kind comments will induce my Mum to keep writing guest posts for me :-)
Deletewhat a wonderful story of a marriage that just keeps blooming! The fact that it continues to be pampered and taken care of lovingly...speaks for much! I love the analogy!
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely, Linda, isn't it! Hope you are well and we'll soon get to read another post from you :-)
DeleteHello Lindalu,
Deleteyou have quite understood, what I wanted to express with my post.
We do hope to reach our 50th wedding-anniversary, called "Goldene Hochzeit" (golden wedding), it will be in 3 years!
What a lovely story, long may the hibiscus and the marriage prosper.
ReplyDeleteBut Hibiscus grows outside in my garden summer and winter. The leaves fall off in autumn but they come back in summer and the flowers come out late, round about from now. In cold and wet summers there are fewer flowers.
Man sollte ja nicht schon im voraus gratulieren aber ich gratuliere wenigstens schon mal zu 47 glueckliche Jahre. Prost!
Vielen Dank, Friko! Wir sind nicht abergläubisch, daher darfst Du ruhig im Voraus gratulieren :-)
DeleteNot sure whether the hibiscus would survive a frosty winter like the one we had; several nights during January and February this year, temperatures dropped to almost -20C.
Thank was really wonderful, and I thank you so much. I loved the poetic way you compared it to your marriage. Hibiscus to me still is very exotic, something I only read about it books.
ReplyDeleteWell, the 'thank' was supposed to be 'that.' Sorry!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, Nan, I think everyone who read your comment understood what you meant - we all make typos, and since there is no way to modify our own comments, everyone here is familiar with that happening :-)
DeleteGlad you liked my Mum's post!
Hello Nan,
ReplyDeletethanks for your kind comment. We now can buy hibiscus-plants everywhere in Germany, and we did. We tried yellow or orange-coloured ones, but they didn't ever survive beside the big "marriage-flower"!
Everything that can be said has been said but I would like to add my congratulations on the success of the Hibiscus as a living symbol of your - MeikesMum and Dad - life together.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Graham! It is something none of us are taking for granted; too many times we see relationships not standing the test of time (my own first marriage included).
DeleteKeep up the good work! I really like your post!!
ReplyDeleteLovely flowers and I love the way you have written and presented the post.
ReplyDelete