There are plants which strangle themselves.

In their attempt to grow and reach the light and great heights, they grab hold of whatever is near them – a wall, a drainpipe, itself.

For example, the Clematis – self-clinging climber which “can be helpful to cover unsightly areas; produce showy, vibrant flowers; eye-catching”.

While grabbing and twisting around itself, it’s not even aware that its self made knot is cutting off it’s nutrients. In it’s struggle it reaches for the nearest lifeline, looping back and in and over itself, plaiting its own oblivion.

For it to survive and thrive, you need to cut it, prune the knots, get rid of the dead branches which have become tangled within the huddle of its reaching.

When the knot is so large that you can’t see what’s a new shoot and what’s a red herring branch blocking the path, you have to cut it all off, new shoots tangled with old; a “hard prune” right back to the bare bones; all the possibilities fall to the ground.

It looks like nearly nothing left; a stub with a few branches; waiting.

Un-encumbered by its own struggle its ready now to grow again.

[2024 PCS Recovery]