Just wondering if any of you gardeners have ever seen a peacock plant. Well at one time I hadn't either but that all changed a few years back. Here's my first experience with it and I will always remember the first time I saw it.
My mother-in-law was in the hospital several years ago and Bobbie was staying at the hospital with her. I went to visit and was out side the room and the people across the hall had made friends with Bobbie. They happened to be in the hall also and Bobbie introduced us and Bbbie started telling me about this beautiful flower that the woman had and made a bouquet and used it in the bouquet and brought to the hospital. The woman asked if I would like to see it and I said sure. She went in the room and brought out this arrangment that was really something to see. It had this thing it it that I had never seen before. I mean pretty, pretty oh did I say pretty twice? Even more pretty than twice. I asked what it was and she said peacock. I bragged on it and she found out that I liked plants and asked Bobbie and me if we wanted to ride out to her house and see her plants later in the day. Well yes I would probably walk to see that pretty, pretty plant. Well she had a car so we rode, and all the way there I was thinking now this lady is so nice and I know she is going to give me a cutting of that peacock plant. We finally arrived at her house and I started looking for the peacock plant but I couldn't see any thing that even resembled what I saw at the hospital. We started seeing plants as soon as we arrived in the drive way. Lantana, daylilies, hollyhock, and many more beautiful plants. Some I knew about and some that I had never seen but nothing that compared to the beautiful peacock bloom that was in the bouquet at the hospital. She finally finished showing us her flower garden and still no peacock plant. I finally asked what about the peacock and she said we're heading there now. Now we proceeded on down this trail in back of her house and she stopped and fed the fish in a large fish pond. I still haven't seen the peacock plant even though I did see some other plants that were pretty but no peacock plant. I kept thinking she is going to get rods and reels out and we will have to fish before seeing the peacock plant. She finally finished feeding the fish and we went a little farther and there was a large pen with some goats and we had a discussion about goats. I was thinking I wish we would hurry and get to the peacock plant. I don't want to know about goats. Now this lady just seemed to keep dragging her feet if you know what I mean. We had seen plants that were pretty but where is the peacock plant that I want a cutting from. I knew as far as we had walked we had to be getting close to the peacock plant. Now I didn't want to be rude but I was about to tell her I came to see the peacock plant when she said right around the corner and we will see the peacocks. Now I was thinking she used peacock in a plural way so she has more than one, maybe I will get a WHOLE PLANT and not just a cutting. My heart was literally racing with that thought. I had a few things in my life that I was more excited about, wedding day? sure, days the boys were born? sure. The day I finished high school? probably not. But not many other things that I can remember. I could hardly wait to get to that plant As we went around a curve she said here are the peacocks. I sure love them and every year they give me this pretty feather out of their tail that I use in my flower arrangements. I even sell them to the floral shops around here. They bring in a good deal of money. I said where is the peacock plant that you had in the arrangment. She said it ain't no plant is comes from the peacock. Goodness knows, have I ever been that disappointed before. Probably not even when I asked Bobbie to marry me and she turned me down the first time. A real gloom fell all over the place. The sun was shining at one time when I was walking down that trail waiting for my peacock plant. It sure was a long walk back to the car and an even longer trip back to the hospital. I was so disappointed to say the least.
Now when I got Bobbie alone I accused her of setting me up and she swore she didn't but looking at her face and the big grin I still believe she did. Just like I set all of you gardeners up that thought you were going to read about a plant that you had never seen before and probably was thinking I was going to send you a cutting.
Next story, my peanut butter tree. Really is such a thing. Oh yes, I have to take pictures. Now I don't have a jelly tree to go with it but I am looking, if you hear of one let me know. Have car will travel.
This message was edited Jun 8, 2008 8:54 AM
The peacock plant a true story
LOL Jim....................you were set up big time! Now, the peanut butter one I have one too, kinda small now but I'm looking forward to the flowers.
LOL! Love your story! I got my peanut butter plant out of the jar today and planted them next to my money tree that I forgot to water so I can pump gas... but that's a story for another day.
Up here where there is a Mount Yonah, there used to be a sleazy burger stand called "Yonah Burger" (named for the mountain). When Miami friends came to visit and asked what a Yonah burger was, we used to spin lengthy yarns about yonah as a rare delicacy, yonah hunting and the virtues of yonah meat. No friend was ever brave enough to try an exotic yonah burger made from prime yonah and neither were we. That place was disgusting, but we tried to sell it as the only eatery still standing where you could get authentic, fresh, wild yonah burgers. lol
L
Okay , so you must be zoological yor avirialy challanged. Who didn't grow up visiting zoos and parks and seeing peacocks everywhere? Ge yourself to the newest zoo or aviary and check it out. There are many wonderful things to see there; peacocks, peahens (brown), white peacocks, flamingos, as well as a miriad of other mammals and sealife. But I degress. Here is my peacock story (and yes theydo have the most beautiful feathers which can be used in all kinds of decorations and floral bouquets): When my children were in Jr. High and H.S. we lived in a little farm community in central California. There were 2 major state highways which ran through town however and we saw many things travel down these roads. Trucks full of chickens , cows, cattle, horses and sometimes carnival attractions and animals would travel down these roads at all times of the year. It is so hot and dry in the summers in the San Joaquin Valley. Dry, dusty, hot (often above the 100's). No humidity of any kind but lots of dust and dirt. So every summer we had grown accustomed to traveling north to our favorite Oregon coastal town ( We now own a home in Florence Oregon where I am currently taking my summer reprieve from the hot humid Georgia summer where we now live until my husbands retirement ) and renting a house for a couple of weeks where it is cool and moist and the gardens are always freshly washed by a light rain. This particular summer we had taken our usual summer reprieve and were hesitantly returning to our home in California. We had received complaints from our neighbor about how much cat food our cats had been going through. Another neighbor had spoken of a huge bird (perhaps a peacock) who had taken up residence on our roof at night. Imagine our surprise when we returned home to find a full grown male peacock living in our backyard! Upon our arrival he made a flying leap from our ground level back yard clear up to the roof of our 2 story house. He was particularly fond of the chimeny where he perched in all his glory, cooing and strutting as if he were some colorful weathervane. The next few days were a quite a comedy. We woke the first morning to observe the peacock and our dear pet persian cat "Fluffy" eating neck and neck out of the same catfood dish. We even thought it might be fun to keep the beloved bird as he got along well with our cats. But the cons outweighed the pros as we began to have to look for pea poop wherever we walked and our roof began to look like it was decorated for some extravagant wedding with interesting white frosting blobs here and there. Our local police chief, who was also a good friend and neighbor, finally came to the rescue bringing us a cage meant for trapping wild animals and returning them to the wild. We baited the bird with cat food (of course) and as he entered the cage the door fell shut. The next day I delivered him to a farmer who ironically had recently lost a peacock he had on his farm. He loved his peacock who grazed with his chickens and had missed him dearly since his death. So he was glad to have another and the last we heard our glorious bird had made himself at home with the chickens and the cows and spent his nights roosting in an old walnut tree!
Sharon have you had any blooms yet. I was told that the seeds falling you would have plenty of babies. Mine must be on the pill.
Lili good to meet you. When that money tree blooms let me know. I want the first cutting.
Hi Laurel your post made me think of an eating place where I grew up. They had a sign on the outside "If you is broke you done ate." I would have to be broke to eat there. Lol
Lynn good to meet you also. Glad my story brought back memories to you. I really enjoyed your story. It wasn't that I had never seen a peacock before. Just didn't put the two together. Might be that I hadn't been into gardening but a short time then.
Jim, no blooms and "Mine must be on the pill" also...............LOL. We have a restaurant in our small town called the "Pastime Grill". On first moving here we went in and I asked for a menu. The waitress turned and said "see that pig on the wall?" "if it ain't wrote on the pig, we ain't got it"!!!!! Short but sweet:). We had whatever was on the piggy............
I'm loving all these stories! Almost enough to make me forget the heat. Can't bring myself to turn on the air as it's in the 60's at night and I wont hear the wood thrush singing in the morning. I'm taking my Vornado and going to bed.
BTW, I have a peacock story too, but I'm too tired to tell it tonight.
Nite all,
Laurel
Hey Cuz Jim...I enjoyed your story...I've never seen a Peacock Flower....but here is a picture of a Parrot Flower...ain't it purty? Cuz Jo
Sharon that is funny Sort of pin the tail on the pig.
Laurel we are waiting on your story.
That is really pretty cuz Jo. Not as pretty as my cousins but pretty. How you doing?
Well, it's late, and I didn't have a good night's sleep last night after the creature in the photo below crawled out from under the dust ruffle, but here goes...
Last summer, my DD was home between graduation and grad school, doing her summer community swim coaching gig. The house phone rang and it was DD..."Hi, Mom". "Hi, Em, how was practice?" Anyway, it went on like this for several casual sentences and then she said, "Mom, I'm out at the top of the driveway and there is a peacock walking down the road in front of the house. What should I do?" I said, "A what?" and she said , "A peacock". She then told me that she had tried to round it up out of the street and down our drive, to no avail. It was wandering around up front and broaching the road. I said keep an eye out and I'll make some calls.
I then called Fulton County Animal Control and reported the peacock in the road/yard and asked that someone come out to capture the bird and return it to its rightful owner. Now here's where the story gets interesting...
The person tells me to hold on a minute and then gets back on line and tells me that peacocks are native birds and that they do not deal with wildlife!!!LOL "ARE YOU SERIOUS!", I exclaim, "What are you talking about? This bird belongs to someone and I want you to come get it." It has now wandered down the drive and into our woods. There is more muffled conversation and the person tells me that I will be under penalty of law if I touch this native wild bird! I demanded to speak to a supervisor. A new person gets on the phone, introduces themselves as the supervisor and asks me loosely 'What's my problem?' I repeat the story. The person accuses me of being argumentative, tells me that peacocks are wild all over Georgia and warns me that I had better not do anything to endanger or impede this bird as they now have my name and address. I slammed down the phone. DD and I watched the creature stroll happily off into our woods.
The next day I'm chatting with our neighbor, who also has woods adjoining ours. I tell her the peacock story. She says, "Your kidding!" I said, "No, can you believe it?" She says "No, not that...Your kidding, Jane's (another neighbor down the street) peacock has been missing for a week! Where is it?" I said, "Last I saw it was somewhere in our woods. Tell Jane to call animal control to round it up!" LOL
Laurel
What a story Laurel.
What in the world is that creature? I would have been sleeping somewhere else.
I have enjoyed reading everybodies experiences in this thread, Jim. Laurel, you a hoot too! Don't tell me there are scorpions in GA! Now Jim, your peacock story reminds me of the same let down feeling I got when Larry and I were invited to go snipe hunting. I saw and heard that bird all night, I swear I did. You could have blown me over with a peacock feather when I found out I was the ONLY person in the hunting party totally clueless.
Going "Snipe Hunting" in our area of WVa was a rite of passage...passisng to adult stage!! LOL Jo
Hey Jim....Look what I just found in the Plant Files....LOL Jo
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/513591/
It's the state flower of FL. I'm from there and we used to have a huge, old one that I'd climb when I was young(er). We'd have to sing this stupid song, "Oh Royal Poncianna" in grade school.
What's this about snipe? Are there doubters? Look what's nesting in our birdhouse. Anyone want to go cow tipping?
Laurel
Looks like a snipe to me.
Cuz Jo, no wonder I was so gullible. I must have read about it some where. LOL Thanks for posting about it.
Laurel, nice scorpion. There's a small one living in my greenhouse this summer. Since there aren't any plants in there I'm not sure what it is eating. I guess some bugs are in there even without the plants. Funny peacock story. If I see any wild ones here in Dacula, I'll be sure to not notify animal control..... LOL.
Wonderful thread, just what my tired body and brains needed! I enjoyed all stories.
Is that really a scorpion??? where do they live in GA. They can be pretty nasty right?
When I lived in Florida I was bitten by a scorpion on my porch...and later found one in my mail box...
Since I have lived here in Arizona for 8 years I have seen ONE...and I expected to see one when I turned over a board thatt had been laying on the ground a long time. Jo
Hi Becky, I think this type is a 'Southern devil'. I've been stung while weeding the rock borders. It's like a wasp sting.
Glad you're feeling better Coby. :)
Roadrunner, you have the REAL nasty ones out there!
Sharon, forgot to mention that I loved the story and could really envision the peacock plop frosting!
L
Gee Jim, you really had my earlobes on the puter table!!I seldom fall for that, but you got me.Mike
Hi All,
Sorry I ran out on you guys. I had a couple of crazy days. Sorry Jim, didn't mean to be critical. You started us all on a great trip down memory lane. Thanks Laurel for your great story too and for understanding about the pea poop frosting. I am getting ready for a 2 weak trip out to Madison, GA to spend time with my husband and son. Anything I should know or be prepared for? Other than the weather that is. I have been enjoying a rather cool summer here in OR. Actually it has been more like spring. We finally got a few warm days (up into the 70's). It will be interesting to see how my GA gardens are doing in my absence. My husband has basically kept the warter running and the lawn mowed in my absence. So I am sure there are a lot of garden chores to be done. So what are the things to be concerned about with scorpions? I have never lived among them. Also what about the snakes. We live on the edge of a runoff creek and last year (our first summer there) I observed a rather large black snake with red rings (I think it was a corn snake) basking in the sun outside the window. I guess it would be a good idea to wear gloves while gardening, right? And don't send me on any "snipe hunts"? Yeah, I had my experience as a right of passage about the age of 11. Really cool birds, aren't they? "he,he!"
My name is Diana btw. Lynn is my middle name.
Nice chatting!
Happy Birthday Jim :)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/864996/
Susan
laurel , killed a scorpion yesterday. we had a lot when we moved here 16 yrs ago. got most of them out ,but still see 2 or3 a year. they don't hurt as much as the ones we had in texas.i noticed you didn't have any peacock fern at your place.i'll bring you some.i havent watered it in years and its dying out. have enough for 6 to 8 starts if any body wants for sase .dmail me