Audrey and the A Plants

Audrey is not well… I gave her a new big pot last year, and she thrived (throve?) outside all summer, under shade cloth. But since coming inside last fall, it’s clear she’s unhappy. Audrey is a big Philodendron selloum, adopted from a friend who was moving out of state—about six years ago, I think. So Audrey and I have done well until recently. As she drops one after another of her huge leaves, I’m thinking it must be overwatering (because of that bigger pot) and I’ve been trying to dry her out.

It’s an “A” day over at ABC Wednesday, and it occurred to me to list all the plants I know personally that start with A, in no particular order but without resorting to any external aids. Maybe it’ll bring back other memories of the A-list plants in my life. A stream-of-consciousness look at phytodiversity. (Haven’t gotten far yet; this could take a while.)

A Plant Alphabet for A

Araucaria, agave, aloe, avens, Acer, Acanthus,
Anemone, apple, ash, alamo, Agapanthus,

Abies, Asclepias, Acacia, Aglaonema, Aeonium,
Artemisia, Aletes, Astragalus, Allium,
Alopecurus, aster, Androsace, Asplenium...

Amorpha, Andropogon, Agrostis, Achillea
Alyssum, Argemone, Actaea, Aralia, Aquilegia...

Amanita, Acarospora, Agaricus...

Okay, that last line is cheating a little, but fungi were plants when I grew up in botany.

(Can't believe I missed Amaryllis... but Granny Smith caught it! Please let me know your favorite A plants if I missed them—or share a story about one!)

——
Thanks to Chuck Pyle for this concept, which I’ve barely executed at this point, but I might get back to it. Chuck played a song Saturday at the Arvada Cowboy Poetry Celebration that listed all the small towns in Colorado (under 3,000 in population). It was a tour de force that had the audience spellbound. Very melodious, too; it was amazing how many town rhymes he found! He calls it Little Town Tour—check it out!

By the way, the previous post also started as a bit of an "A" post, so you'll find more "As" there.

Quarry

Q is for Quarry, and the Quest therefor. This place where Earth's bones were torn from their long home almost a century and a half ago, yet the rock has still not healed. Exposed sandstone reveals the spot; occasional marks of the tools used so long ago. A steep climb, tough to imagine men working here in those early days.

Nearby, the rocks are cloaked with lichens, proof of their undisturbance. They watched as George Morrison "settled" this place, using its native rock to grow buildings. Some remain today; some do not.

But the view goes on.

More Qs at ABC Wednesday; we are joining mid-alphabet.