Sorry for this old post appearing first. Somehow, I deleted it by mistake (I swear this was a WordPress glitch, not mine). But, fortunately for me, Google had a cached version that I was able to copy and paste into a new post. So, here we go again. (Lost the comments though). Newer posts follow this one. Sheesh.
My sister, the green thumb of the family, whose window boxes just won first prize in the neighborhood competition (an urban neighborhood where 
window boxes and sidewalk pots rule), got me an interesting plant for my birthday last year. A hardy hibiscus with the lofty name “Mighty Big Pink.” It was past its prime at the time (in October), little more than a few leaves on a stalk, so all I could do was plant it and hope for the best.
Writing by Ear 