Octomom

No, I’m not referring to the miraculous birth of octuplets but rather the amazing discovery I made in my garden this morning.  Greg and I have been absent stewards of our green space lately.  So this past week, while I was on spring break, we did clear some beds, plant some tomatoes, and discover that beneath a blanket of foliage our beautiful daughter aloe plant, who came from the original aloe plant that I nurtured back on 7^th street, had produced many babies during our hiatus from gardening.  

After digging away the weeds and grasses, we found her there, radiant and proud, crowded in by her offspring.  Having gone through the same procedure with her mom, I was excited to help her babies make their own roots and let her spread her leaves. 

After carefully clearing the leaf litter from her base, I carefully plucked each young aloe out of its spot, snuggled up next to mom, and found that they eagerly released their roots for an opportunity to strike out on their own.  Each young one was nestled into a pot of cactus potting mix, luckily I collect terra cotta pots like they are going out of style, so we had plenty of homes for each of these beautiful beings.  After all was said and done, Mama aloe basked in the dying light of the day, growing visibly healthier in her gracious space and looking on proudly at each of her children properly potted nearby, ready to establish their own family in the future.