Warm greetings all. 🙏💚
A hair more than four months ago I posted about the one-year anniversary of planting a Chinese weeping banyan, Ficus benjamina, at the base of the lava wall (from the 2018 eruption), that not only cut off the road, but also covered a good bit of an acre of the 18-acre, off-grid, food forest jungle community where I've lived for more than three and a quarter years now.
One-Year Anniversary of Banyan Planting at Base of Lava Wall - November 28, 2021
I should mention that there is a robust and happy plant of Strobilanthes hamiltoniana, Chinese Rain Bells, planted at the base of the banyan. It's pink dangling bell flowers and dark green foliage can be seen on the left (mostly) of the young tree. I made a post about this wonderful plant yesterday. Strobilanthes hamiltoniana - Chinese Rain Bells - A Beautiful and and Easy Indian Medicinal Plant - March 2, 2022
Today I wanted to share a bit of my excitement with you. In the four months since I made that post, my banyan has grown quite a lot. I cleared around it with a machete today, and while I was marveling at its notable growth, I decided to take the opportunity to snap a few photos of it while it was more easily visible.
Its top branches, which are growing very quickly now, have almost reached the top of the lava wall. As it grows it will send feeder roots down to the ground, which once they hit the ground, they become trunks, and the tree will 'walk' up the lava. In a future time this banyan will be a very beautiful and impressive behemoth of a tree; a guardian at the public entry way up onto the lava.
While this post may not seem to be entirely garden/gardening related, for my kind of gardening, land-weaving, it most definitely is. Thank you all for sharing my banyan excitement with me! 🙏 💚