My Bugambilias
We have 5 bugambilas on the property. Four of them in the front yard. They are so big and colorful that I use them as a landmark when I tell people how to find my house. “It’s the one with all the bugambilias pouring over the gate”.
When we planted them each one was coming out of a 6-inch flower pot, they were innocent little things. We had no idea what we were in for. Some of the bugambilias grew faster than others but all are now 2-story monsters requiring constant trimming. And each day there is a fresh layer of fallen flowers in my yard, this is what I get instead of snow here, a pink driveway.
Los Bugambilias – One view of my garden
Two of the bugambilias have woven themselves around the top of a tree which is growing on the other side of the wall, in the neighbor’s yard. One of those bugambilias is pushing so hard on that concrete wall that the wall is cracking. My husband has had to brace the wall on both sides to help protect it. But ultimately we know that we will lose the battle with this plant, and the wall will crumble. Then we will rebuild the wall stronger, a bugambilia-resistant wall.
Three of the bugambilias send branches over the front gate, resulting in a huge spray of flowers covering the sidewalk in front of the house. Once in a while a jardinero (gardener) wanders by and catches me in the front of the house. The jardineros invariably see my willd front yard as an opportunity, they are quick to tell me that the bugambilias are touching the tv cables running down the street, they tell me that these bugambilias need taming, that they need to be hacked to within an inch of their lives with a machete. Good I say, come back tomorrow, talk to my husband, my husband is good at saying no to people, I find it tedious, boring to have to fuss with boundaries, talk to him.
Los Bugambilias – View through my gate
But I like my wild spray of flowers covering the windows, making it possible for me to have privacy in my home without shutting the curtains. I like the messy driveway that’s always full of flowers. I like the hummingbirds which spend half their time hovering up there. I like the colorful chaos. I even like losing the battle over the concrete wall. Let the plant win, plants need to win more in this world. I say let the bugambilias take the house!
