The summer has been very hot and dry with hardly any rain showers. I tried to water the thirsty looking plants every other day as they looked as if they might die. My gardener wasn’t very fond of watering plants as the water would flow very slowly during the day. So, watering during daytime could be quite boring and tedious. We had a backup system for watering plants by using water from a special tank high so the water flow would be strong and fast. But this would involve the manipulation of some water control system. My gardener was afraid that her forgetful mind would lead her to make a mistake. So, she got stuck with weak flow of pipe water.
I preferred to water these plants sparingly but more frequently so that they wouldn’t get too soaked with sudden flooding of water. After a few days, those plants with dry looking branches bursted forth with so many flowers. So, I did save them from giving up and they have decided to give me a big surprise. Those Moke trees with tiny white flowers have a really good show of their innate capability to flaunt their beautiful flowers with sweet fragrance in the evening. I did a hard pruning last season so I thought they wouldn’t flower until the rainy season.
Moke trees (Wrightia religiosa) are very popular as they have auspicious meaning. They are supposed to protect parole from bad vibes; the Chinese people believe that Moke trees would bring wealth and prosperity to people on the house. I was attracted to their tiny white flowers looking like small bells with Beth sweet fragrance. The fragrance could become too strong in the evening. It was like someone broke a perfume bottle in the garden! I was so glad and grateful to these Moke trees for cheering me up with hundreds of small white bells. Lots of insects came for the nectar all week long.
The other plant that gave me a big surprise was Desert Rose (or Pink Bignonia). These two plants were without any leaves and had no sign of life at all. I started to water them mire frequently and I talked to them and thanked them for being here with me. They were given to me almost six years ago by an old friend. She was an elderly lady with a small craft shop selling hillytribe needle works and lots of Thai handicrafts. I used to drop by her shop very often to chat to her and looked around her old dusty shelves with lots of curiosity objects. I liked the old brass cutlery which I had chosen several pieces. They reminded me of something from my far away past life; they made me feeling at home with familiar heavy cutlery.
Then, one day I found out that her business wasn’t going very well as people weren’t interested in old art objects and handicrafts. I bought lots of hand made clothes and bags, old jewelries, and embroidered hangings to give to people as presents. One day I entered her kitchen only to find out that she lived on s loaf of bread for the whole week. So, I started buying her groceries with basic food stuff such as rice, cooking oil, sugar, eggs, vegetables etc. every two weeks.
She was very glad and grateful to my kindness. Luckily, during that phase I had an extra part-time job with good pay so I could afford to help her out in times of difficulty. I would inspect her fridge and kitchen to find out what she was lacking. So, I bought more items from her little shop. She was someone whose reality was in a time warp of some fifty years ago. Her life story was very interesting and unique. She was even thrown into jail in Laos after the communists took over the country. She belonged to the rich elite family with connection to the royal family. She didn’t have the wit to escape from those communists, she thought they wouldn’t harm her family.
But her father was in the military and quite famous. In the end the family mansion was taken over by the communists and she was put in jail. It took almost ten years for a prestigious Thai army, a friend of her father, to negotiate for her release from jail and to be rehabilitated in Thailand. She lost everyone on her family and all her family wealth. I saw her old photo after she was released for jail; she looked very skinny as if she just came out of a concentration camp. I had never met someone who was raised like a princess and became homeless later in her life.
She didn’t know how to return my favour but I told her that she reminded me of my grandmother so I was very happy to help her and to see her in good health. She was a keen gardener and had green fingers. I used to admire her small garden so she realised that she could offer me some pot plants. That started the ritual of her giving a few pot plants whenever I visited her. So, these two desert roses were her gifts to me years ago.
Whenever they were in blossons with red flowers, I would be thinking of this old lady. I often wondered how she was doing after she moved to a new house. We lost touch after she moved to a new location without giving me any details or new phone number. I did search for her for a few months but I couldn’t find any trace of her whereabouts. Only these red flowers reminded me of her sad and tragic life; her kind heart and gentle personality would always stay in my memory.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.