Once upon a time, we asked our friend Mike Geimer if he would help decorate our booth at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show. When we arrived, we found some enormous plants. Great, but now Mike, how about at the end of the show? Don’t want ‘em back, he informed us and so began the collection in our offices.

 One of the plant swas a white bird of paradise and it was probably 6 feet tall then. It got bigger, needless to say, and over the years became known as “Big Bird.” As in Sesame Street. Another was a small regular bird and it became known (how clever is this?) Little Bird.

 We moved a year or so ago and Big Bird was donated to the compost pile. Little Bird came with us and since then has become somewhat larger. As in Big Bird larger. This morning, we wheeled it out front, yanked it out of its pot and, lo and behold,found that its roots had grown through the plastic separator that was supposed to act as a catch drain to let water collect below the soil in the bottom of the pot. Lots of roots.

 Little Bird is now in a roomier pot. Its foliage received a sponge bath (we found some evidence of scale) and then it was wheeled back to its space in the corner where it gets as much light as we get here. We’re hoping the root pruning lets it put out new roots and makes for an even nicer (although larger) plant. Might it ever flower? Nah. This ain’t the tropics, our watering regimen is spotty at best, and the light is never optimal. But hey, it has lasted all these years under great neglect, so we’ll be happy with whatever it decides to do. We know it’s hardy….

— Bill Aldrich