One of the things I always admired about the previous generation was the women seemed to have a knack for plants. Not me, I had the curse of the black thumb. I swear my mother could breathe on a plant and it would grow, I so much as look at them they would shrink and quiver in fear.
I know what you are thinking....surely I must be exaggerating. Wish, I, was....
My first attempt was in my 20s. I found this man at a flea market that sold plants so I started buying them. About every 3 to 4 weeks I would buy another one. After a few months I came in, he greeted me warmly figuring I was a plant lover too, then I made the mistake of asking him what plants he sold that were hard to kill. His friendliness faded some and he politely suggested I shop some where else. Apparently he had some sort of attachment to them.
In my 30s I decided to try again. I bought a cactus. Now mind you everyone swore they were hard to kill. "Oh even the worse gardeners can keep a cactus alive." They obviously didn't realize who they were dealing with. It put up a fight, took me 7 or 8 months but I killed it. Took me a few more months to realize it.
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| Not the actual plant |
So, here I am in my 40s. This past Valentine's Day I told my husband I wanted a plant instead of flowers (unless they were potted flowers). His initial reaction, "Why? What have they done to you?" I almost cried. Much to my surprise he actually got me one. It came with a warning..if I kill this one I am never to have another live plant. So, I have done my due diligence and have researched and read everything I can about my new plant. I am proud to say it is still alive!
Feeling some what inspired I was visiting the garden center at a local store and I spotted a plant that was half off. It looked sad and pitiful. I figured if I bought it at least it had a chance of surviving, even if it was a slim one. Once I got it home I realized it was actually 3 plants crammed into this very small pot. So my first instinct was it needed room. I separated each one into a bigger pot being careful of the roots and keeping as much soil around them as I could. (see...I am learning!) After they got transplanted I hung them up on my porch to keep my pet pig Rudy from eating them.
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| RUDY |
Okay, he doesn't actually eat them, he likes the potting soil and will root around in it until he digs out my plants and kills them. No one would believe me if I blamed it on him.
I am happy to say after 24 hours the plants had spread out, instead of looking so squished, and perked up considerably. I think it really helped that we got a little bit of rain over night and they got a hardy bath. I haven't had them long enough to declare victory yet but it has given me hope. Maybe, just maybe I will be able to move to my next goal...actually growing flowers from seeds.
