Again, my WISH for a Coconut Tree, DASHED!

View of the tall, wild Coconut Trees ( Cocos nucifera ) from our old family home where my Childhood Garden is. View of the trees are now either wholly or partially blocked by our front neighbour's house or by nearer mature trees like the Ketapang Tree ( Terminalia catappa ) and the Rain Tree ( Samanea saman ) and other vegetation.

Years back, even as a child, I found Coconut trees ( Cocos nucifera ) amazing and beautiful. I loved distant views of them ( wild Coconut trees ) from my Childhood Garden. Not only did they stood strong and tall. They swayed beautifully in gentle winds. And they endured the fiercest of storms without fear. Or so I thought. 

During drawing classes in school or whenever I felt like it at home, I loved to draw Coconut tree scenes. I just loved Coconut trees. 

Given a chance, I would want to grow one in my own garden. So I could admire it as and when I felt like it. I could also daydream or have a little picnic or read a book or perhaps even sleep under it. ( Not when it is heavily fruiting though. ). But Mum never liked the idea. She was ever afraid the tree would grow too tall for us to manage one day.

" But Mum, we can just grow the dwarf variety, can't we? They won't grow too tall. Please Mum, I just want to grow one! " I used to plead with her back then. Somehow, however I begged, Mum just would not budge on her decision. My wish to grow one was often adamantly put to a FULL STOP.

Our front neighbour's dwarf Coconut tree ( Cocos nucifera ).

Many years has since passed. Now that I have my very own garden, I think I could easily realise my long-suppressed wish. That is to grow a Coconut tree.

My chance came the other day when I went back to our old family home. Our front neighbour's gardener was tidying up our neighbour's big garden. He mowed the lawn and trimmed the trees. Of all the trees, the Coconut tree ( a dwarfed variety ) was given the most trimming.  Lots of its fronds and fruits were brought down from the tree. The fruits were loaded into the gardener's car while the fronds were all thrown away to a nearby bush not too far away from the house, along with a more than two feet tall seedling.

Lucky ME! His garden wastes were my treasures! The fronds ( I will write about this in another post on another day ) and the beautiful, most precious seedling especially! I had them all dragged back to our house compound.

The Coconut tree seedling ( Cocos nucifera ) taken a day after I had it picked up and brought to My Small Backyard Garden.

I took picture of the beautiful Coconut tree seedling and had it shared to Eldest Sis WhatsApp. Feeling excited, I voice messaged her to tell her that I could now finally realise my wish to grow a Coconut tree in my garden. I know my garden is very small. And it is all concrete other than the ground level planter areas. But, I told her I could just have it grown in a big earthen pot. I did not expect it to fruit. I just wanted to admire it as an ornamental.

The instance Eldest Sis saw the picture and listened to my voice message, she called me on the phone. She ' poured cold water on my wish to grow it in a pot ', discouraging me and laughing at my innocence. She said I was only wasting my time and torturing a beautiful plant that way. It would not grow happily in a constrained space like that.

" What about you let me have it instead? I can grow it at the empty space outside my house, near to my beds of herbs and veges? " She suggested to me in the end. " I'll make sure it stays happy there! What do you think? " She continued.

Though I somehow felt she sounded more like wanting to own the Coconut tree seedling herself, she was right in a way. It surely would be happier if planted on the ground. So I agreed to part with and let her have it. Not without a heavy heart though.

" Goodbye, oh dear beautiful Coconut tree seedling! May you reside happily and healthily at your new home! "

..... Again, my WISH for a Coconut Tree, DASHED! .....