Theo, My Garden’s Romeo

Some plants arrive with more spirit than we expect, and Theo was one of them. He pushed up far too early, braved the winter cold, and grew into a bold, towering presence in my garden — a true Romeo among the flowers. His season was brief but wholehearted, rising from a tiny seedling to a generous summer giant before gently returning to the earth.

The photos below trace his small but memorable journey, followed by a poem and a quiet Damien Rice song that felt just right for his farewell.


Theo is transplanted from the gravel path into my large planter box. (early June)

When I came back from my trip to Canada, on September 23rd, Theo was indeed looking very sick, and we thought he mightn’t survive …


But during the spring weather of October and November, Theo did thrive …


With flowers and fruit by the end of December …


Yes, Frankie, we spotted red tomatoes in early January …

Early March, and Theo’s crop of fruit has not been large, mainly due to his premature birth and my 4-week absence in Canada, but we are very proud of Theo’s effort to be one of nature’s providers …





Theo, My Garden’s Romeo


From little things, big things grow –
a tiny seedling in the snow.
So brazen and bold,
he survived the winter cold

A time-defying green tower,
with serendipitous spring flowers
and summer fruit for my garden dell –
Theo’s life was wildly swell.

Then, prematurely – like his birth –
his wilted girth
slowly began to return to the earth






Ivor Steven ©  March 2026

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ivor20

G'day, and welcome to my blog site. My name is Ivor Steven, I live in Geelong, Australia. I'm an ex-industrial chemist, and a retired plumber, and a former Carer of my wife(Carole), for 30 years, who suffered from severe MS. I Write poetry about those personal thoughts, throughout and beyond my life as a Carer. I've been blogging for over 2 years, and writing poems for 19 years. Of course a lot of my poems are about my favourite subject Carole, but since I've been blogging my writings have become quite varied, humourous, mystical, observational, and even a few monster/horror poems.

23 thoughts on “Theo, My Garden’s Romeo”

  3. A very cheery post, Ivor. It is a heroic story of rescue and brave survival, and I enjoyed it very much! 🍅 🍅 🍅

    You made me remember my own cherry tomato experience from many years ago. When the tulips in my flower bed were finished blooming, I squeezed cherry tomato seeds over the soil. The vines filled the flowerbed, and we had cherry tomatoes on our salads for weeks!

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