Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Mimosa


I came across this mimosa tree on my walk to work yesterday morning. I've seen several of them in bloom around town, but this one may be the most vibrant.


When I was a young teenager, I went through a period when I was very into plants. Once, on a family trip to my grandmother's house in Maryland, I dug up a baby mimosa tree just an inch or two high. I think I took it from her yard, but I can't really remember. I put it in a pot and when we drove back to Florida, I brought it with us. It rode on the floor of the back seat, and I remember being very concerned about its well-being during the trip. When we got home to Florida, I planted it in the front yard. Of course, it promptly died.

So it goes, to quote Kurt Vonnegut.

I never got any takers on Freecycle for our free glass-topped coffee table. Instead I just got a bunch of people who pretended to be interested in order to fish for my e-mail address. Annoying! I'm going to list it one more time, and then it goes out with the trash. (Remember, it's not even really ours -- it belonged to the previous tenants of this flat.) Since I first listed it, I've cleaned it up, brought it indoors and taken a better picture. I also tried to buy the proper bolts to put it together, thinking that if it were assembled it would interest people more, but Homebase didn't carry them and I'm not going to invest a lot of effort in finding the right size just to give them away. At least I can advise whoever takes it (if anyone takes it) what size to get. I would think the tabletop alone would be worth something -- it's big and undamaged and it weighs a ton. We'll see!
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15 comments:

  1. eMarch 8, 2017 at 7:26 AM

    Charity shop, though getting it there might be a hassle...Sorry your tree died. Have you ever thought of compiling your family stories?

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  2. Steve ReedMarch 8, 2017 at 9:07 AM

    I may be wrong, but I don't think a charity shop would want a disassembled table that doesn't include the bolts to put it together. :(

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  3. Yorkshire PuddingMarch 8, 2017 at 9:45 AM

    You have tried to sell me the glass-topped table but your pitch didn't work. Stick to librarianship and avoid advertising.

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  4. eMarch 8, 2017 at 12:56 PM

    I've given stuff in worse condition and it was repaired and sold...you could ask.

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  5. MartyMarch 8, 2017 at 1:41 PM

    When I saw today's blog I realized that I've come across references to mimosa trees in my reading, but had no idea what they looked like. This one is spectacular.

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  6. Ms. MoonMarch 8, 2017 at 1:59 PM

    That makes the Florida mimosas look pathetic. Are they even the same trees?

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  7. SharonMarch 8, 2017 at 2:49 PM

    That mimosa tree is pretty spectacular! It reminds me of the acacia trees here.

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  8. ellen abbottMarch 8, 2017 at 4:18 PM

    I wouldn't have called that a mimosa. The mimosa trees I know have pink flowers that look different. wish I could post a picture here in comments.

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  9. ellen abbottMarch 8, 2017 at 4:21 PM

    I'm pretty sure that's an acacia, not a mimosa.

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  10. 37paddingtonMarch 8, 2017 at 4:27 PM

    What an aggressively spectacular tree!

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  11. John Going GentlyMarch 8, 2017 at 4:35 PM

    Put it on the street with a " free to good home" it will be gone by morning

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  12. Steve ReedMarch 8, 2017 at 4:35 PM

    So here's the interesting thing re. the name of this tree. When Sharon posted above that it reminded her of acacias, I thought, "Oh, yikes, maybe it IS an acacia" -- because I also remember mimosas in the states being pink and fluffy. But I was sure I'd heard these yellow trees referred to as mimosas. So I looked it up -- and sure enough, although this is a type of Australian acacia, they are known (particularly in Europe, apparently) as mimosas.

    How confusing!

    http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8450958_difference-between-mimosa-acacia-trees.html

    So I guess the bottom line is, by American standards, it's an acacia. In Europe, it's a mimosa! The tree I dug up in Maryland was almost certainly the American pink one, although I never saw it bloom, so who knows?

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  13. RedMarch 8, 2017 at 6:03 PM

    It's sad that some perfectly good items are not wanted and thrown away.

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  14. jenny_oMarch 9, 2017 at 1:35 AM

    Yikes - the tree naming reminds me of the very, very different interpretations of some words in America vs Britain - biscuits and pants being the two that come to mind first. Oh, and YP's sidewalk. Or is it pavement??

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  15. CatalystMarch 9, 2017 at 1:39 AM

    Here's a tip. A guy tried to give something away and no one would take it so he made a sign and hung it on the item: For sale - $50. By the next morning, someone had stolen it. Maybe I stole that story from you????

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