We made a dramatic transition, moving from the desserts of the southwest to the temperate rainforests of the Pasic Northwest. And while I love it here, there are things about my old home that I dearly miss, among these are the friends and family left behind, not just the people but also my plant and animal friends. (Instead of visits from coyote, lizard, quail, roadrunner, hawk, and owl, my visitors now are goose, eagle, crow, squirrel, skunk, raccoon, and possum.) I also had to accept that my cherished avocado that I grew from a pit, my Meyers lemon, ruby grapefruit, and lime with their perky, tart, uplifting energy, would not survive the cold in my new grow zone. I had to leave them and adjust, as I got to know occupants of my new yard: the fur trees, maple, hazelnuts, hawthorns, cherry, apple, pear, plum, and multitudes of berries.
The only exception is my bay tree (Laurus nobilis). It is an aromatic evergreen that grows slow and never made it planted out in the ground but instead, like a hermit crab, just trades for larger and larger pots.
My bay has traveled to live in 3 different states with me. It lived on a hot, shaded patio, then on a balcony lit in dappled shade, and now it spends most of the year in my Oregon greenhouse. Though it is not hardy to my new grown zone and would die if left out in the winter's cold, it has adjusted and does well in the greenhouse, slowly growing leaves to replace the ones I harvest.
