Maybe 25 years ago, in a magic encounter, a woman in Sedro gifted me with crocosmia bulbs. I planted them in our then home and then dug them up and bought them to Bow when we moved here 20 years ago. I planted them by a stump. Over the years the stump got overgrown and the crocosmia stopped blooming. I sort of forgot about them. But today – look what popped out to say “hi”!
Here’s an excerpt from Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist in which I describe how I acquired these crocosmia:
On my daily walks of five years ago I use to pass this beautiful yard that looked like a park. There were islands of flowers everywhere, all aesthetically placed and pleasing to the eye. It was obvious that the hand of a professional was at work there. But for months I never saw anyone actually working in the garden. I was intrigued. The flowers that most caught my eye in this garden were the long sprays of flame-orange crocosmia that shot out of the islands. I’d never seen this type of plant before – or if I had, I’d never noticed it – but they were hard to miss in this garden.
I found myself lusting after them. Weeks went by and the crocosmia were on their last legs when I finally met the owner of the garden. She was directing a handful of children in the weeding of her garden when I first saw her. She was pretty, lively, and had an aura of positive energy about her, and she was directing her child-helpers from a wheelchair. I walked up to her, shook her hand, introduced myself, and told her I’d been admiring her bright orange flowers for weeks. Laughing, she agreed that they were, indeed, beautiful. She told me they were called “crocosmia” and generously offered to give me some bulbs in the autumn. She didn’t have to offer twice. She gave me her card – I learned she worked at the University of Washington – and told me to call her in October and she’d dig some bulbs up for me.
When October came I was too shy to call. So I just kept walking by her house, hoping she would see me and recognize me. This was a long shot, I knew. This woman was a busy lady and probably met a lot of people on a daily basis – if she even remembered who I was it would be a miracle. But, as we learn in Christian Science, miracles (or rather natural goodnesses) do happen! There came a day when the garden lady was out in her yard as I walked by. She looked up, immediately recognized me, and told me that now was the perfect time to dig up some crocosmia bulbs.
I came home from that walk with a plastic bag brimming with bulbs, feeling like I’d just robbed a candy store. When we moved to Bow several years later and built our new house, I planted those bulbs in my Secret Garden. I think of that pretty lady with the lively spirit, and her generosity to me.
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 