The tale of houseplants lost and new beginnings
How a new house has always led to new houseplants
My Pothos had taken over the entire TV unit in 18 months. It was the statement piece of my home and made it to multiple Instagram posts of mine and those of my friends.
I would look at it longingly every day, excited about its vines and new growth. I would touch its leaves, talked to it almost every day, and ensured that it always gets the water and nutrients it needs. It responded well and flourished in my house.
Giving it company were Areca Palm, Snake plant, peace lily, and ZZ plant. They were all happy together inside my cosy home and I like to think were having the time of their lives. I had started believing that my ‘green thumb’ was for real.
And then, we changed cities and eventually countries.
I could not take the houseplants with me. So I did the next best thing, gave them to my close friends and my mother who I knew could keep a plant alive.
So, was I heartbroken? Well, yes!!
After giving almost two years to those plants, I had to part with them. And this did not happen for the first time.
Before this, I was in Bangalore and had to give up all my plants when I changed cities and moved to Gurgaon and now was doing it all over again.
But those plants are now the center stage of someone else’s home.
My friends share pictures of plants sometimes and I can see they continue to thrive.
Perhaps my role in their lives was limited and I did my best and now they belong to someone else. And maybe get passed on to new people later, who will have these plants in their lives for another time.
I have started thinking of it as a cycle of goodness and greenness. The abundant joy that my plants must have given to the nursery owners where they came from, and then to me, and now to my friends and my mother, they will keep going on till they are taken care of.
I moved to Canada and the moment we had a house, a pothos came into our lives. It was small then but it made me happy. A year later, it has blossomed and I again have multiple plants to give it company.
I call it my ‘corner of happiness.
I don’t know if I will continue living here or for how long shall I have these plants. But I know for sure, that I will create my ‘corner of happiness’ with houseplants wherever I go and my plants will keep responding to me or to others as well, where ever they go.
This article has been written in response to Dr. Preeti’s prompt of ‘Loving Houseplants’
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