The Wonderment of a Tiny Tree

I am a happy camper!  The day was spent cleaning and painting the entryway but, while that is nice, it was a trip outside that made me smile!  For years now, I have been trying to find a small Camphor Tree to plant in the yard.  There is just so many topical uses for the leaves and wood of this aromatic tree. Imagine my elation when in a flower pot, I found one such tree!  Yes, it is just a wee sapling but still, it is a Camphor Tree!

This past fall, I wandered over to the "Old Place" of Aunt Marie and Uncle Alfred.  This was their old homestead which is now quite overgrown with trees and brush.  As I wandered, I came across their Camphor Tree way down by the pier.  It had met with a lot of damage from recent hurricanes but was still putting on new growth.  I searched below the tree but found no saplings nor even a rooted limb.  Desperate to have my very own tree, I took some cuttings and hoped for the best.  These cuttings had small black berries on them.  Not knowing if I could root the cuttings or not, I thought it best to try planting a few of those berries!  The cuttings withered and died.  All that was left from those was some great branches to be used in Halloween decorations!  (Motto..never waste anything!)  The flower pot with the berries sat barren throughout the fall and winter. Now..come summertime here on the Bayou, I see a sapling!  A lovely, twelve inch tall version of a great tree!  I gingerly broke off one leaf and crumbled it.  Sure enough, the telltale aroma proved that this was indeed a Camphor Tree!  One berry obviously was fertile enough to sprout and grow into a healthy, miniature Camphor Tree.  Oh, happy day!  Great care will be taken of this sapling and perhaps some day soon, my yard will be graced with the loveliness of a Camphor Tree of its own!  Then I can take snippets of leaves to use in my medicines!  Yes..simple things to make me extremely happy!