My Family Has Expanded!
Thanks to my flourishing houseplants
My relationship with houseplants has been less than stellar. In fact, I confessed to being a murderer last year. My track record was so dismal.
But, I’ve been exonerated. I actually now possess several houseplants who have been officially named into the Dalton family.
Orchy
Orchids are so fickle, but I managed to bring Orchy back from near death and she rewarded me with 5 blooms that lasted all summer. Despite her having shed her exquisite flowers, she still looks healthy. I talk to her and give her and her sister a couple of ice cubes every week, and live in the hope they will reward me with more beauties come Spring.
Cacky
My daughter regifted me a cactus 5 years ago. It was in a tiny pot and only an inch high. Cacky has occupied a windowsill spot ever since and has flourished exponentially. He has grown to be over 6 inches tall with voluptuous and numerous fingers. I recently repotted him for the third time and am keeping a beady eye on whether he is content with his new container.
Vera
When I was visiting friends in November, they had a huge aloe plant in their home. She had recently repotted some offshoots and offered Vera to me. I have her sitting on my dining room table and she seems more than content. Baby shoots in her core have sprouted; her large stalks are full of aloe.
Much to my horror, my son snapped off one of her tips last week to reveal her sticky, clear juices. I think she quite liked that, though, as she quickly sealed the break and has continued to flourish!
Clarisse and Tina
My son and I are babysitting Tom’s plants while he is at university in Toronto. Tina is in James’ room and loves her spot on the bookshelf, where the sun streams in when it shows its face. She has produced several new shoots within the last 6 months. Likewise, Clarisse has gone crazy! She’s surviving random attacks by my cats, who seem to think her luscious green fronds are for eating or swatting. She’s attempting to claim pride of place in my living room.
Spikey and Spindly
When my friends moved to Utah in the summer, they couldn’t take their house plants. They brought a box-full to their farewell ‘do’ and heartfelt friends adopted their cherished greenery.
I liked how Spindly was tall and neither cactus nor succulent. Have no idea what he really is, but it doesn’t matter. He has shot up at least another inch and has several new baby shoots appearing.
Spikey wasn’t so happy when my cats started nibbling on his soft shoots, but he has produced some offspring that look very healthy. I just repotted him with Cacky since they were buddies on the windowsill since he arrived and thankfully neither are protesting — yet!
Chrissy
A dear friend gave me a ‘grow your own Christmas tree’ as a holiday gift. Chrissy has produced six buds that have been quickly developing under my watchful eye the last month. It will soon be time for me to place the wooden box into another container to allow them to flourish even more.
Droopy
This plant somehow survives despite me always forgetting to water it. I’ve had it for about 10 years and because of its flowing leaves, he has to be somewhere high. When he was on top of my fridge in my old place, it was easy to water him, but now he’s high up on a bookshelf, I tend to overlook him.
Thankfully, he always bounces back.
I wish I had more room to have an abundance of houseplants now that I’ve managed to find my green fingers.
A huge shout-out to Ellie Jacobson for her writing prompt that inspired this story.