This old cracked pot was one of the first things that Chris ever made in ceramics. It's at least 25 years old (made when Chris was about 36 - you can do the math if so inclined!). Long before Solar Gardens was ever a twinkle in Roger's eye, this was the first pot that he planted up with succulents. Always one to stuff pots with as many succulents as possible, he used as many jade cuttings from an old plant as he could. As it grew, we affectionately called it the jade forest.
A few years ago, it cracked. Our first reaction was to discard the old pot and replant the jades. But then we started looking at it more closely and realized... that big cracked pot carries a thousand memories. It reminds us of so many things...a time when this jade was the only succulent we owned (but we didn't know it was a succulent), a time when Solar Gardens wasn't even in our dreams, a time before we purchased our first hobby greenhouse, how this old jade inspired us to collect more succulents and eventually try our hand at propagating them, and is a reminder of a time when Chris had time to do ceramics. In reflection, this is the pot that peaked Roger's keen interest in succulents. But perhaps most importantly, this cracked pot and the old jaded forest reminds us of our humble beginnings.
We get asked every day, where did Solar Gardens come from? How did you ever get started in succulents? That cracked pot reminds us now...it all started way back then...with this amatuer home-made pot and a raggedy old jade tree that was slated for the compost! You can see our old jade forest when you visit. It's on a concrete end table on the south side of our house back deck.
The moral of the story? There's 2:
1. Funny what an old crack pot can tell you.
2. Chris is now a senior...but looking fabulous!
