Sunday, July 24, 2011

Plant Parenthood.

I love plants. Okay, maybe that is an understatement... I LOVE plants. My friends make fun of me, because I treat some of them like my children.

Some people have pets... I have plants.

When I say "I have plants", what I mean is "I have a lot of plants." At last count I had 20 potted plants in the condo. ("Sandi... I think you have a problem..." says my friend Stef)

Recently, a friend commented on the fact that my plants seem really happy and healthy. As if it was something really exceptional. Why do they do so well? Do I have a green thumb?

Unfortunately,  it's nothing like that. I'll let you in on the secret...

If they don't thrive, I chuck them out.

That might sound like something really harsh from a self-proclaimed plant lover, but it's true. I've tried to select plants that will do well in my low-light living space, so if they start to shrivel, they're gone. (It's not like I don't try...)

This is especially true for the ones that other people gift me (they tell you you have a plant problem, but does that stop them from giving you more?). For my birthday, I received a lovely sunflower. It was happy and perky for about 2 weeks, then started to droop and turn yellow-y. After a while, I chucked it. Ditto the mini-rosebush... and the creeping jew. .... and one of the cacti.

Oddly, one of the things that does grow well in my kitchen is orchids. I was given a few from a co-worker who is moving, and was really happy when this one started to bloom...


It has had it's 6 blooms for almost a month now...  Does the fact that I took some pictures on my phone to show people (as though it were one of my children or my pets) make me a creepy plant parent?

2 comments:

Kate Moore Hermes said...

Sandi - I have an almost identical orchid! They're the only thing I can grow for more than a few weeks.

Dominique said...

YOUR blog im awesome!!! I'm so happy to see you've joined the blogging world :)