It’s silly to name a plant. But today, an exception.
Meet Resilience, the lucky bamboo in the accompanying photo.
I found Resilience last summer on the “last chance” shelf at a Lowe’s home improvement store. It cost $1, marked down from $3.
And no wonder. The bottom of the plant’s stem was encased in a closed plastic tube that once held water. “Bedraggled” best described the plant’s appearance at the time.
I bought a Mason jar for $3 and decorative gravel for $4 more, then anchored the bamboo in the container with water. In time, the plant thrived, growing a new branch and many leaves.
Still, it remained nameless.
Then in late March, I made a hasty exit from Louisiana to shelter with family in another state during Covid-19 lockdowns. Sheepishly, I left the bamboo.
I returned last week to find the plant – bedraggled again but hanging on, even after four months without new water.
“Lucky” doesn’t accurately describe this determined bamboo. It refused to yield, even when twice ignored – a metaphor for what 2020 now asks of us.
Resilience.
