This hummingbird was worth waiting for

When I got this fabulous echeveria Blue Rose hanging basket the other day from WIG nursery in Burnaby, Alfred Kwan, the owner, advised me to cut off the flower stalks.

“The beauty is in the colour and shape of the echeveria rosettes,” he insisted. “The flowers are a bit of a distraction.”

The red flowers with their yellow tips are not totally insignificant but they do tend to hang in the air on the long slender fleshy pink stems.

Nevertheless, I decided to leave them and remove them once they start to deteriorate.

Now I’m glad I waited. A hummingbird has been coming to feed on the flowers. It has been a delightful sight, one I wouldn’t have seen if I had removed the flowers when I brought the basket home last week.

I guess it’s just another example of why patience is a virtue.

swhysall@hotmail.com