Spring guests received a royal bed and breakfast welcome at Neita's Nest this year.
Many a guest has asked us, “What is that tree next to the verandah at Neita’s Nest”; the one that stands serene and warmly welcomes weary visitors; the one that seems to nestle this hillside chalet?
What is that tree that canopies the ivy-covered patio wall; that leafy-green that umbrellas the white adirondack chairs on the terraced garden?
Many a guest has asked us, “What is that tree next to the verandah at Neita’s Nest”; the one that stands serene and warmly welcomes weary visitors; the one that seems to nestle this hillside chalet?
What is that tree that canopies the ivy-covered patio wall; that leafy-green that umbrellas the white adirondack chairs on the terraced garden?
What is the name of that tree; the one that wafts cooling winds across the verandah from breakfast time to dinner, making music through the capiz chimes; the one that shades the wide expanse of living room windows?
What tree is that tree; the one that boasts brown bunches of star-shaped pods, wide open and bare of seeds; the one with the branches that bend over bougainvilleas, forcing them to reach beyond the shade and bloom for the morning sun?
Purposeful and perfectly positioned, she stands to welcome and to nestle, to canopy and cool, to waft and shade, to boast and bend - month after month, visit after visit, guest after guest.
Early next year, she will stand there and change as she did this year. Her dark, green leaves will pale. Then they will yellow, brown and fall in their thousands. Respectfully, no one mentions her bareness, for in these three months, she quickly cycles through autumn and winter. And just before she nudes completely, she shoots clusters of baby leaves to signal spring.
Soon her babies full and fill the air above her stately trunk, creating a canopy over the green ivy-covered wall, and a leafy umbrella over the adirondak chairs. And, as her cycle continues, she makes one more change. Through her mass of green, berry-like bunches burst out then slowly open to a majestic mauve, and wrap her leaves like a jeweled turban
She is the Queen Flower from India, and she reigns supreme in Spring. All questions now turn to joyous exultation, and the response to her royal wave is, “What a beautiful tree!” This spring, her plumage was at its ever-best. Perhaps we have had a long break from the hurricanes. Perhaps the rains have been kind to her. Better yet, perhaps she has come of age. But, whatever the source of her grace and splendour, we have been blessed with her beauty and purpose.
Her feathery flowers have now all shed to reveal bunches of bulby pods. As these dry and release her seeds from their star-shaped cases, these woody coronets will hold on to her branches month after month, to remind us that this is no ordinary tree.
MANY THANKS TO PHYLLIS ELLIS, ANDY AND HER TEAM AT THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COUNCIL FOR PROVIDING THE NAME OF THIS TREE. FOR THE SCIENTIFIC-MINDED, IT’S NAME IS LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA.
What tree is that tree; the one that boasts brown bunches of star-shaped pods, wide open and bare of seeds; the one with the branches that bend over bougainvilleas, forcing them to reach beyond the shade and bloom for the morning sun?
Purposeful and perfectly positioned, she stands to welcome and to nestle, to canopy and cool, to waft and shade, to boast and bend - month after month, visit after visit, guest after guest.
Early next year, she will stand there and change as she did this year. Her dark, green leaves will pale. Then they will yellow, brown and fall in their thousands. Respectfully, no one mentions her bareness, for in these three months, she quickly cycles through autumn and winter. And just before she nudes completely, she shoots clusters of baby leaves to signal spring.
Soon her babies full and fill the air above her stately trunk, creating a canopy over the green ivy-covered wall, and a leafy umbrella over the adirondak chairs. And, as her cycle continues, she makes one more change. Through her mass of green, berry-like bunches burst out then slowly open to a majestic mauve, and wrap her leaves like a jeweled turban
She is the Queen Flower from India, and she reigns supreme in Spring. All questions now turn to joyous exultation, and the response to her royal wave is, “What a beautiful tree!” This spring, her plumage was at its ever-best. Perhaps we have had a long break from the hurricanes. Perhaps the rains have been kind to her. Better yet, perhaps she has come of age. But, whatever the source of her grace and splendour, we have been blessed with her beauty and purpose.
Her feathery flowers have now all shed to reveal bunches of bulby pods. As these dry and release her seeds from their star-shaped cases, these woody coronets will hold on to her branches month after month, to remind us that this is no ordinary tree.
MANY THANKS TO PHYLLIS ELLIS, ANDY AND HER TEAM AT THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COUNCIL FOR PROVIDING THE NAME OF THIS TREE. FOR THE SCIENTIFIC-MINDED, IT’S NAME IS LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA.
