Moss flowers, succulent babies, and fecundity...

I decided to clean out and trim some neglected planters that had lapsed into 'survival of the fittest' mode. I love plants and dirt. My first job was at a commercial greenhouse where I potted plants, standing in front of a bench piled with loamy potting soil. I would scoop my cupped hand forward into the warm soft dirt, fill the front half of the pot, scoop backwards filling in the back, then press the soil all around a young plant, tucking it into its new home.

In my overgrown planters, I discovered a tiny universe I wish to share. First, I noticed an abundance of moss! I love terrariums and moss is a prized element in their little landscapes. Upon closer inspection,  I noticed that  the moss had flowered! I said to myself, "Emily Dickinson may think 'hope is the thing with feathers', but hope is also the thing with flowers."

More excitement in this Wayne's world: Not only were the succulents dropping roots like a banyan tree, they were sprouting babies out of their leaves. I first read the word "fecundity' in Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. All the sprouting, propagating, and blooming going on in my neglected containers made me agree with Annie: " Fecundity is an ugly word for an ugly subject. It is ugly, at least, in the eggy animal world. I don't think it is so for plants." I love seeing the tiny baby plants nestled into the moss, but did not have the same euphoria when I discovered a teaming bog of frog eggs in the birdbath.

I filled 3 Mason jars with cuttings and expect roots to sprout in a week or two, but who knows. I may discover a jar teaming with little buds emerging from the submerged petals. How many ways do these lovely plants reproduce? I have loved succulents, ever since I was eight years old when a housekeeper brought me 'hens and chicks.' They were wrapped in newspaper and i was somewhat mystified, even disappointed by the odd gift. She'll never know how her simple offering created a memory I revisit every time I see succulents. Simply plants, they seem more like friends.