- Author: Andrea Peck
- Editor: Noni Todd
By Andrea Peck
I graduated high school in the mid-eighties which is probably too much information. But, if the 1980’s music and movie scene had an effect on you, as it did for me during those torpid teenage years, you will know what I mean when I describe love as a joyful, strangulating thing. This era brought a new dimension of electronica which made its focus on love oh, that much more painful and romantic. From Endless Love and Tainted Love to anything by John Hughes, it was clear love was not Easy Like Sunday Morning.
Oddly, I feel the same way about my Muehlenbeckia axillarisplant that I purchased 10 years ago from a local nursery. If you don’t know about this particular plant I will describe it as a small, green-leafed vine. The leaves are dark and shiny and bounce like the curly permanent that I wanted my hair to acquiesce to during the latter end of the 1980’s. This bounce is more in my mind, but I would describe this little plant as a pretty gem that has a quirky feel – perfect for a little fairy garden. If it was a tween in the 80s it probably would have been out all night getting itself into quite a bit of trouble.
I remember buying this plant – it came in a 3” round planter and I just hoped against hope that it would survive my lack of gardening skills. At the time, I wondered if I should buy more than one. It was so adorable, I wanted it everywhere.
Fast forward to 2013 and it is literally, everywhere. In fact, I had become so oblivious to its everywhereness that I did not realize that it had taken over the entire left side of my front yard, and worse still, had started a slow enmeshing of my prized fuchsia. This delicate plant begins with inconsequential appearing limbs, but don’t be deceived; those tiny twiny appendages soon form woody cords that grow underground. Muehlenbeckia is insatiable in its search for connection.
Without proper therapy, my fuchsia would have likely declined to the point of perishing.
Ah, the drama.
Unraveling the overgrown Muehlenbeckia took the better half of a day. Long ribbons were untwisted from throughout the fuchsia plant which now has a chance to stand out in a less codependent style -more befitting 2013.
Beware folks. Beware of what you buy and how much work you intend on doing in your yard. Watch for growth habits that may inhibit other plants and trim appropriately. Give needy plants boundaries in the form of pots. But, most of all, be cautious when it comes to love.