Thérèse Neelands

Lazarus

Lazarus, the Hydrangea

Several weeks ago, my hydrangea plant was on its last legs/stems – bereft of leaves, flowers and all. Well, sadly I figured I had to throw it in the compost. I cut off most of the stems so it would fit in the bag, then had it sitting on a stool in the kitchen to wait ’til garbage day. Lo and behold, one day it was FULL of buds. The bloody thing has now totally resurrected, and is full of squeaky, clean, young leaves. For the last couple of weeks, every time I go in to the kitchen and look at it, it makes me very happy. I have called him ‘Lazurus’. (he used to be a she, back when she had flowers. I called her ‘Cordelia’, which I felt fitting for a hydrangea). But she’s come back to life, reincarnated as ‘Lazurus’. (I suspect he’ll never bloom).

p.s. I name all my plants. I figure it is a positive thing to do to keep them alive. So far, I have Itsy-Bitsy (my spidar plant, whom I hope does not have a complex, given his name), Yo-shi (my bamboo plant), and Xe-Xe, my other bamboo plant I recently acquired from Xe-Xe gallery on their 5th anniversary.

Addendum I:

I am fully aware that flowering plants have both female and male parts, therefore, my lovely hydrangea befits both names ‘Lazarus’ and ‘Cordelia’. However, due to my need for personification in all things, and due to my old-fashioned belief that flowers belong to the female, Hydrangea Cordelia remains ‘Cordelia B.R.’ (before resurrection), while Hydrangea Lazarus, remains ‘Lazarus A.R.’

Addendum II:

It has just been brought to my knowledge that not all plants have both female and male parts. These plants ‘sans hermaphrodite’, are called ‘imperfect plants’, while plants with both reproductive organs are called ‘perfect plants’. I have yet to find out the perfectness or imperfectness of my darling Lazarus.

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