Hole in the wall

That little stump you see behind the garbage can used to be a schefflera, and the schefflera used to fill that gap in the green wall -- and camouflage the can pretty well.

But Arthur, our next-door neighbor, hacked the plant up a few days ago. He and Franka probably want a little more light through that jalousie, with the thready days of winter coming on. It's their plant, after all.

When Jon did our plantings, he asked whether we wanted to cut out the random stuff hanging over this edge of our lot. Absolutely not, we said, and I still tend those plants as well as I can, taking yellowed leaves off but still leaving as much of the wild look as possible.

Scheffleras being what they are, I expect to see a dozen tiny umbrellas springing from the stump in a month or so, and a full growback in about a year. I'll keep you updated.