A PLANT YOU NEED !

 

There are shady trees with benches. You can sit and admire the designs on the sidewalk and street. People pause to greet one another with a smile and customary hug. Mothers pass with babies in strollers out for a walk. Children in chattering groups on their way to school. Old men and women just sit in the sun and nap. I am one of them.

This city is hilly. A short four block walk to the harbor is down hill and similar to climbing Mt. Everest on the way back. Once I make the climb I find a bench. People passing think I am napping. No one suspects this particular bench is a time machine.

When I close my eyes and the soft sounds of the language are carried in the breeze I hear the past.

The first five years of my life I lived on a ranch with my paternal grandmother. She was Azorean Portuguese and refused to speak English . 

Somewhere in my brain I am fluent but not when I open my mouth to speak. Those pathways don’t quite make the circuit. With eyes closed people think I am sleeping but I am working on my vocabulary. In their conversations I hear the voices of family members who have departed. Those sounds make me feel at home here.

You feel at home here too because you recognize the flowers and plants. These islands were formed by volcanoes so none of the plants, animals, birds or people are native. They all came here from somewhere else.

 In this mild climate ferns, camellias, azaleas, roses and Lilacs thrive. 

Hydrangeas rule the landscape by forming hedges that serve as fences and decorate the roadside. 

Their brilliant blue blossoms sheltered from the wind by the dry stacked basalt rock fences dance along property lines.

 In some areas there are forests  of cedar trees. The wood withstands the humidity well. It is used to make the framework the roof tiles are placed upon, furniture, wood utility carts, gates and other useful objects.

Herbs do well here. Tucked in the flower boxes on the balconies you may see oregano, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, lavender and mint. 

Have you ever seen a small plant called Cat Mint?

Pinch off a leaf and it smells like the incense used durning the Mass in a Catholic Church. That is because it is. The leaves are burned to produce that special fragrance.

When you live on a remote island you use what you find or grow what you need. The sea may bring you

Octopus, fish or the doors from a ship wreck.

There is  a New Zealand herb here called Swordfish (Phormium tenax) 

It is a type of aloe vera, a succulent you may already have in a pot on your porch. It was used to make traditional Maori fabrics. It was also used to make sails and rigging.

 In the Azores it was cultivated for fiber production. You see the vines used here to make rugs, hats, ropes for the grape press winches and strong string used to tie bundles of grass. The plant looks similar to an aloe vera plant because it is in that family. Here is a photo of one. You probably

have this succulent in a pot on your porch. Now that you know how useful it is you might make yourself a hat from the fibers to impress the neighbors.