Post #1009224

@RavynWitch We have a true lauris nobilis that was a wedding present in 1982. It was about a meter tall. We decided to see if it would survive a winter on Vancouver Island in early 1984, and it died right back to the ground, but sprouted up with seven separate shoots. It grew rapidly to a height of 10+ meters, then suffered another dieback in a particularly hard frost, this around 1997. It grew up again to more than 10 meters before once again suffering a frost kill in 2007 or so. It is presently again well over 10 meters tall, a dozen trunks up to 20 cm., houses several birds' nests, and is ready to bloom again. This is a tree that I contemplate as a friend and companion, particularly as it was a present from my paternal grandfather, chosen by my father, who planted a like tree at their place in the Gulf Islands, also in 1982, and, last I checked, it's still there, flourishing even without Hank and Maggie's tender ministrations, as, like grandfather, they have moved on. I share lots of leaves with cooks I know and use the leaves in my own culinary preparations, but mostly I love looking at the tree and letting the scent of its blooming was over me for that brief period at the end of spring.