During my herbalism-studies I’m always taking notes about plants I wished I had, and why. One of them was Albizia julibrissin Rosea, or the Persian Silk Tree.

This plant is amazing! It is *beautiful*, it’s a great nectar tree for bees and butterflies, the seeds can be fed to livestock (I still need to check on that…) and it is medicinal (anti-depressant, sleep-inducing).

It is cold tolerant (can survive temperatures down to -25 degrees Celcius) and it folds its leaves in at night – it’s common name here in the Netherlands translates as “Persian sleep-tree”.

So who wouldn’t want to have such a beautiful, multi-facetted wonder tree in their garden? I do! So much that I was seeing it – with my minds’ eye –  blooming and attracting bees in the healing garden, radiating its silent blessings to its immediate surroundings. I was over the moon to find it in a webshop here in the Netherlands and ordered it (along with another long-time love, Schisandra).

When I unpacked it I actually asked myself “what’s this?” for a second or two before I burst into laughing – the contrast between my visualised wondertree and the young sapling I held in my hands couldn’t have been greater.

What a laugh! Welcome, my dear.