Last year I was given a giant terracotta pot, full of succulents, for Christmas. They looked exquisite and in the early Spring I decided to put them out on the garden table for a day or two. The sun was warm and I thought they would benefit from fresh air.
On the second morning, I looked out of the window only to find an unbelievable scene of frenzied destruction and total carnage. Some monster had, under cover of dark, uprooted the plants, scattering earth everywhere. The plants were massacred, half eaten and thrown on the ground. Was it a fox, a squirrel or a malign force – was this sinister night visitor still lurking somewhere nearby, waiting to wreak more vengeance …
I was horrified and then sad. It became grey and cold outside. I put out seeds for the birds – robins, blackbirds, goldfinches and a tiny wren. Undeterred by the late frost, primroses appeared. The demise of the succulents slowly faded …
As Spring gave in to Summer I started buying small plants, one at a time. And now I have a new family of succulents – kept safely inside for the moment …
One morning I came down to find that one plant had grown a beanstalk type stem in the middle, showing a crowning glory of pink, starry flowers. If the initial pot had survived, I doubt that I would have started this collection – so some good came out of disaster …
