Wednesday, May 20, 2020

The world may be falling apart, but my bougainvillea fairy-godfather still visited!

Peter Herpst—aka the Outlaw Gardener—and I have a late May tradition of meeting up at my place and then heading to the Rare Plant Research open house. We make a day of it, hitting other nurseries in the area. Somewhere along the way he started bringing me a bougainvillea. I wrote about this generosity last year (here) and included photos of the beautiful plants he's brought. This year there was no meeting up at my house. Due to social distancing and the whole Covid-19 nightmare we arrived at Rare Plant Research in our own cars, with no plans beyond just shopping there. But guess what...

Yes, that masked man is Peter—my bougainvillea fairy-godfather—and he brought a bougainvillea! Can you even? You guys, I nearly cried. Seriously. So much has changed, and yet this. I wanted to hug him. I didn't, but I wanted to. Sure some might think this is just a silly tradition but the friendship behind it, and the fact that all summer long I'll see those ridiculously bright papery bracts and think of my friend Peter, well it's pretty damn special if you ask me...

The plant will be living by our back door, it's a sunny heat sink, the tomatoes love it there so I figure the bougainvillea will too. Thank you Peter! (and yes, I am getting teary-eyed again...)

Weather Diary, May 19: Hi 64, Low 52/ Precip trace

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

28 comments:

  1. That is such a very sweet gesture, and a nice adventure tradition - especially so as you kept it up in the midst of a pandemic! And, that hot pink looks fantastic against your dark wall. Love it!
    Glad also that you got to see each other, even if from a distance. I miss Peter!

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    1. It was a pretty fabulous day, pandemic be damned.

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  2. What a sweet man. I am so glad that you two got together even though it wasn't the regular way. I probably would have cried as soon as I saw those pink blooms. At least you got together. I miss Pete's posts so much.

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    1. You are not alone, his blog had a lot of fans.

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  3. Never mind the bougainvillea, I'm just happy to get a glimpse of Peter looking svelte. I miss his blog and humor and hold on to (very little) hope that he may start posting again. I love your annual get together tradition.

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    1. You never know, maybe one day he'll get the urge...

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  4. So good to see Peter looking well! We've been wondering how he was doing.

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    1. I'm learning Peter has an even bigger fan club than I realized.

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  5. So happy for you--and for Peter. And a little envious. Cheers

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    1. There are two more open Saturday's at RPR...maybe you and Bill should make it an outing?

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  6. PETER!!! I'm so glad you got to visit with him, even without a hug. He looks great!!

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  7. thank you for sharing this. i will look at creating more specific horticultural traditions. My son knows to give me yellow freesias or no cut flowers at all. He also started the watch "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" every thanksgiving. I'd enjoy a friend with a bougainvillea, too. I still am uninformed of who so many bloggers are. I know their blogs, but not their names. Hi, Peter, great blog.

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    1. And so many bloggers don't include photos of themselves so you can pass right by them and not even know!

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  8. The unexpected gift is the most cherished for both the giver and the recipient. How perfect for both you. I know you had the most wonderful day and are still smiling in your thoughts.

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  9. I got a little teary myself! Traditions may be even more important at times like this and I can't think of anything better than an annual plant delivery. It's good to "see" Peter again too. I miss his blog posts. (Alison's too, if you're reading this, Alison!)

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    1. Yes the blog-o-sphere is less fun without the both of them.

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  10. Small gestures like this mean so much when we hear so many negatives. A lovely gesture by a great friend.

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    1. The negatives are overwhelming at times aren't they?

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  11. I miss Peter's Blog so much.

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  12. Bougainvillea remind me of the Mediterranean and summer holidays.

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  13. Dear man! So thoughtful and kind. How is he doing? He looks well in this image. I sure miss his posts.

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    1. He is doing well and definitely has retained his sense of humor.

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  14. What everyone else said. Big smile!

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  15. What a sweet post. I got a little teary-eyed too, thinking of our little RPR tradition & how it had to change a bit this year. Sorry I didn't see this post until just now. So many posts to catch up on!

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