The Yucca

From Facebook archives

31 August 2010 at 10:55 ·

The yucca in my front garden flowering.  

It is the offspring of a yucca that used to be in the garden at home in Wales. That one only flowered once in the 40 years or so I knew it. When Dad gave me the offspring I thought it would never survive NE winters. How wrong I was!

The Blodfa yucca was in a fairly inaccessible part of the garden.

In 1988 Dad brought up an offspring which I didn't think would survive up here so planted it next to the front door, where it thrived to the point it stabbed most visitors.

Around the millennium I wrapped a pair of tights around it, pulling all the leaves together into one spike, Fester dug it up and we planted it in a more inaccessible corner of the garden, where it only stabs us when we trim the hedge or go and try to pick blackberries.

And now …

It flowered, or attempted to, several times after that; once so late in the year the flower spike got frosted and we thought that was the end of it.

Oh no.

The damn thing grew three more heads, which each try to flower every year or so.

It has half a dozen heads now and it just keeps growing and getting taller.

At first I was wary of taking shears to the leaves in case I damaged it.

I’m coming to believe there’s little, short of a drone-strike, that will harm it.

 

Dad also gave one to Bigsister in London.  It grew so tall it toppled over in a gale.  

She thought it was finished and gave a sigh of relief.  It just carried on, sideways and upover.   

Every time their little grand-daughter is due to visit brother-in-law is sent out with a set of shears to take all the sharp ends off, for fear she cuts herself on it.

 

Here’s a photo I took of our yucca yesterday.

At a rough estimate I’d say it was getting on for 10ft tall now.

It’s providing a wonderful safe home for spiders, snails and goodness knows what else.