On the kitchen table today while in lockdown… cypress cuttings from the backyard in a vase I brought back from beautiful Orvieto many years ago. (And its potter’s mark.)
I don’t know if it’s just me or if anyone else names trees in their backyard but we call this cypress, ‘Annibale’, after Nonno Anni and it’s special to me because Mum gave it to us in a tiny pot to remember him when he died and not so long after, we lost her too, so this tree feels doubly special.
(Evergreen is a symbol of immortality and in ancient times the custom was to place fresh boughs to salute the departed and console the bereaved, such a lovely tradition, especially in winter when there were no flowers and the green lay stark against the snow.)
Fifteen years on, the cypress tree, ‘Annibale’ continues to thrive, is quite tall and burly (a bit like Nonno Anni was) and home to our lovely resident possum, Tabitha and a nest of honeyeater birds. (And its fronds have a lovely fresh scent on the kitchen table!) Hope you are keeping safe and well wherever you may be, in or out of lockdown. Zoe xx
Zoë Boccabella 