It was raining when I decided to take out the rubbish and put the bins out, ready for the bin men tomorrow morning. So, I was in lightning mode, hoping to achieve my goal without getting too wet.
The job was almost done when something caught my eye. Something that wasn’t there before.
Rain or no rain, this deserved investigation.
My first thought was, this, whatever it was, must have been there for some time, so why the dickens hadn’t I seen it before. As you can imagine, a lot of rubbish finds its way into our bins, and by the looks of this beautiful plant, it must have been there for ages.
My memory suggested it was a cyclamen. I definitely hadn’t put it there, and as no one else in the family has any inclination to garden, who did?
I know that sometimes plants can arrive without my interference, either from the wind or the birds. But that didn’t seem likely.
The mystery deepens. A quick glance at my neighbours’ gardens confirmed that none had any cyclamen. This part of the front garden has always presented us with mysteries, like the plant that vanished for five years and then suddenly appeared again, or the mysterious red light that seemed to be hiding in a bush and could only be seen from the front room window. Maybe this was another one?
But what would I do about it? It couldn’t be a good idea to leave it there, right where the bin men could stomp, so I wanted to move it to a safe place. But when?
Should I leave it until it finishes flowering, or pray it survives until the Spring?
Your advice would be welcome, as I would hate to get it wrong and ruin this very special surprise…
Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes 
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