It all started about seven years ago, during a cold winter in Ontario. My friend Katie asked if Adam and I would accompany her to Joshua Tree Park in California for Spring break. I'd never heard of the place, but I'm always up for an adventure, so off we went. Although the weather was chilly and wet, it was a beautiful trip and I was completely impressed with the Joshua Tree.
Fast forwarding to just a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned to Adam that I've really wanted a peppercorn plant for some time now. We ate fresh peppercorn in Thailand and it is supremely flavorful and much more spicy than dried black peppercorn. The seeds that I acquired in the grocery stores have proved nonviable, so I went shopping online. I found a great website based out of Eugene, Oregon that sold peppercorn seeds...and much more. I restricted my searching to sprouts that thrive in Zone 11: the tropics. As you can see in the photo below, I may have become a little excited and ordered seven kinds of exotic seeds, including both black pepper and the Joshua tree.
I followed all the different directions and now each kind of seed is planted. Some plants have wildly varying germination times. For example, the Joshua tree can take from three days to three years to sprout. It wasn't my bet to emerge first, but low and behold, just days after planting, a Joshua tree sprout is the first (and so far the only of the exotics) to show itself.
Now the story comes full circle. I leave this week to visit Katie in Switzerland, where she's currently living the high life. I have her to thank in great part not only for introducing me to the Joshua tree, but for sharing her infectious enthusiasm for plants. I hope that we are able to eat lots of chocolate over the next week or so, and I can't wait to see what sprout babies come up in my absence!
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