shewhomust | Tribute to a survivor

I have a pot of basil. A perfectly ordinary, purchased from a supermarket, does not contain a severed head, pot of basil.

I bought it some time at the end of May or beginning of June, even though we would be going on holiday in mid-June: these things don't usually live long, but while they last they waft a pleasant scent into the kitchen, and provide a little freshness to add to a tomato salad. It was still looked alive, though looking quite bedraggled, when we set off for Scotland, so I opened the back door and set it on the doorstep - if it lived, so much the better, and if, as seemed more likely, it died, I could toss it into the compost when I got home.

It lived. It was a bit limp, but I brought it inside and gave it water, and went back to picking leaves as I needed them. Then I noticed -

- it is flowering!

I do know that this is not exactly a good thing; that if I want a continuing supply of fresh leaves, I shouldn't let my plants divert their energy into flowering. If I had been nipping out the tops of each shoot, I would have more leaves and no flowers. That's what I ought to be doing, and I will do it now.

But first let me record my admiration for the tenacity of this survivor.