Accidental Jungle part 3

One day, 15 years ago, my husband found a small green shoot in our side yard. He dug it up and said this looks like it might be something, a bird must have dropped it. He planted it in a paper cup, it was about 3 inches high. Later he transplanted into the pot you see below.
The small plant grew and grew until it needed more space, he put it in a five gallon bucket. Our dog Max tried his best to kill it by eating he leaves, but it thrived and in its bucket because we had no place to plant it. Our hibiscus bush that we named Charley Brown Christmas tree because Max had eaten everything green from its stalks, finally gave up and died completely. Bob dug it up and put the little green bush there. We had no idea what it was. One day when it became an adult bush, flowers pushed out all over it and began several years of a real Christmas tree. It blooms year round and is what we see from our bedroom window. I stand and stare at it every time I walk in our bedroom.

The flowers up close are marvelous in detail. Very small, about the size of a quarter, but blazing magenta in color.

One day we were in Jones Nursery, I was taking photos of all his flowers, yes I did have his permission. I found a plant that looked kind of sort of like the one we had at home. I said, Mr. Jones, we have one of these at home but the flower is half the size. The birds brought it to us. What is this. He said this one is a giant Powder Puff Bush, yours is a miniature.

Of course we bought it and never thought to find out if it was the flower that was giant or the bush. The flowers are 3 times the size of the gift from the bird and the Bush gets as big as a school bus. Bob spends many happy hours each summer, hacking it back so it does not come inside the house.
The picture below was taken when it was not quite grown. I have seen them at Jungle Gardens and theirs are 40 feet tall, so we keep hacking.

We have been accidentally growing our jungle for 20 years come this October. The first year in the house, Bob comes home with a dead root, with one tiny little green shoot on it. He said I think this is a seagrape, I am going to plant it and see what happens. Did we think to look around at the river and see that Seagrapes are TREES? We totally love it to death, one of our favorites. it to has to be hacked back yearly, but who cares? bob does the work, not me. After all HE planted it.

During the summer months we have beautiful green leaves, and it to is the size of a very large bus.

In the spring, no fall, the leaves turn beautiful colors and drop off and the new growth comes for the summer. From dead root to 25 foot tree and

we love every leaf that falls. Maybe NOT, on the leaf falling part.