Look At This!

You may be asking yourself, "what in this picture merits an exclamation point in the post title?"

This poinsettia plant was given to us four years ago at Christmas by a lady in our church. After enjoying it indoors through the holiday season, I moved it to the garage (I was afraid my infant son would eat the leaves and/or berries) until Spring. Then, I planted it in one of our flower beds. Each winter, it has died back. I would cut it to the ground, and each spring it would grow into a small bush again. The leaves were always green - never any red ones, and I was content with that. After all, the plant was still alive after four years, and in my world, that's saying a lot. You've probably gathered that I'm not a garden aficionado. I love plants. I admire other people's beautifully landscaped yards, but at this stage in my life am not devoting much time or energy to my own. I'm pretty sure that garden gurus know the secrets to getting a poinsettia to produce red leaves, but since I'm not one...I don't. So, imagine my surprise and thrill when I noticed this week the RED leaves on my four year old poinsettia! Yes, it warranted an exclamation point or two in my post title! ! ! !

Granted, its nowhere as grand or beautiful as the plant the same lady gave us this year:

But its my poinsetta plant... that's planted in my yard...that's four years old...that's alive....that finally has red leaves....did I mention that it's still alive after four years?!