A Welcome Intruder

When I bought my home last year, a corner of the small yard was thick with vines, a couple large trees, and saplings from the trees. It was a mess, but for some reason I liked it despite a few cries from friends to just cut it all down. My initial rejection to cutting it down was bird’s nests within the entangled wildness, at least three. Plus, I like privacy. My lot sits at the corner of a four-way stop near downtown and across the street is a church and a park. So, what little privacy I can get, I will take. I spent the first fall and winter cleaning it out carefully, pruning instead of hacking. I quickly discovered one of the vines was an invasive vine from Kentucky, nicknamed the alligator vine. Its stem is thick and green with thorns as large and frequent as rose thorns. The roots of the vine run long under the lawn like grassroots. Another vine had gnarled roots that were smooth and gray and formed a trunk of many vines at the base. I trimmed the vine and other branches to create a type of negative space. I sculpted vines and branches so that its form was interesting and sparse, and so that I could view the large live oak and loquat trees in the distance. In addition, the cardinals and blue birds flew in and out, and at least two more nests appeared.

I didn’t give much thought to the vine I was trimming except for my focus on it becoming a piece of art. My pruning must have stimulated its growth, because this year the vine towered over the trees in this space like a lavender waterfall. The leaves were infrequent and light green, and the wisteria blooms hung like grapes. The pods of the flower were like velvet, and when I ran my hand underneath to feel their softness, they felt I was running delicate prayer beads across my palm. The sweet fragrance hovered around my front yard, and the week they were in bloom, I sat in the hammock on my front porch just to be near them.

I consider myself a hypocrite because of this gorgeous vine. I soon discovered they are an invasive species in Florida. They are not yet as invasive as Category I species that alter and choke plant communities, but they could reach this status. My plan to foster native plants in my yard will be stained by this interloper. After a week, the petals fell and now it is as if the clustered plants were never there, reminding me of the impermanence and beauty of spring.