Plumeria blooming in a pot, on a table, close-up of the petals.

Plantus Erectus

Plumeria blooming in a pot, on a table, close-up of the petals.

A real kick in the plants followed us home from Hawaii. It was perfectly legal. We cleared the agriculture station and TSA, but inside the airport, past all the security, they allow a kiosk to sell some kind of very straight and tall species that charmed the plants off Nate.

It’s called plumeria, and for the longest time, it just kind of grew, longer and longer, and taller and taller, until I couldn’t help but…notice. And comment on it. So Nate hid it on a window ledge behind a curtain. However, that window ledge pointed toward the backyard. When the weather turned nicer, and I was all happy in my lawn chair, my eye went directly toward it.

“Do I really have to look at that thing?” I told Nate.

“It’s growing.”

“And how!”

“It’ll bloom.”

“I can only imagine.”

Then, one day, its petals came in.

And they’re gorgeous! I’ve named it Fancy Plants, and it’s my new garden buddy, situated right next to Happy Hour, the pineapple Alex is growing.

Your Turn: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever bought on a trip?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

28 thoughts on “Plantus Erectus”

  8. A strange thing we couldn’t resist getting was a head scratcher! A longish handle at the end of which was a bunch of firm wires…can’t explain it. We found it too sharp; a friend was fascinated, took it home and now the whole family uses it whenever one has an idea and feels a little scratching will help the idea to mature!

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  10. We have a plumeria but with pointier flowers that only just bloomed and Hubby just commented 10 minutes ago how its scent rivals that of roses. I have yet to go stick my nose in it, but I’m excited. We got ours from neighbors who were gifted a bunch then texted the rest of us on the street to see if we would take some off their hands. Took forever for it to do anything for us too, but now… Only one bloom but we’ll take it!

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  13. I adore plumeria, though I forget its other name, frangipani. Didn’t know it could bloom in a pot, I’ve only seen it in the form of large, gnarled trees. I once brought dates from Israel and managed to grow three trees from the seeds! They’re still only about 5′ high, but one day…

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