Plant Lady II

No, this is not part 2 of a previous Plant Lady post, nor do I have a first Plant Lady to share with you at all. I do, however, have a tiny Buddha chilling under a couple funky “trees.”

When I was a kid, there was a florist’s shop on this one corner that we used to drive by all the time. It was kind of an awkward location–hard to get to because of the way the intersection was set up–but super prominent–again, because of the weird way the intersection was set up. To this day, I can picture the big “Plant Lady II” sign in my mind, and I can’t help wondering: was there every a Plant Lady I? Or III? I may never know.

Anyway, I think I’m becoming a bit of a Plant Lady. Kind of like a Cat Lady, except without the lingering stench of feline urine. I keep seeing houseplants at the various stores I frequent and think, “Oh, I should take that home and water it and love it and it will be so happy!” and then put it in my shopping cart and away we go. It’s like I can’t help myself. Next thing I know, I’m pulling into our driveway with a rubber tree in my passenger seat and I’m not quite sure how I got there.

True story.

I don’t even know how I’d introduce myself at the Plant Ladies Anonymous (PLA) meeting. Hi, my name is Jen, and I’m a compulsive houseplant buyer? I’m addicted to acquiring potted greenery? I’m obsessed with growing things in small containers? I heart shrubs?

Is that even something I should be concerned about?

To be fair, it’s not like I’m throwing a ton of money at this new-found obsession. I discovered a twenty dollar bill a couple weeks ago in my purse and it went a surprisingly long way toward feeding my habit. Home Depot was having a houseplant sale, I already had a bag of potting soil and several empty pots, and with just that twenty as my budget I was still able to get five new friends.

Plus I have a couple of spider plants that started as buds on my sister-in-law’s plant, one of those can’t-ever-die trailing plants from a cutting my mother-in-law gave me four years ago, and an aloe vera starter from my mother’s aloe which came from her grandmother’s aloe and which Mom has kept alive for as long as I can remember.

And let’s not forget the basil I planted a week or two ago, now sprouted in the sunny kitchen window and which will someday be a pleasant addition to our dinners.

Maybe it’s the nesting kicking in. Something about making our home a welcoming place for new life…or nurturing stuff…I don’t even know. And all the plants do breathe some life into our place, literally and figuratively, which has been nice.

Still, it may be time for an intervention. I’ve got my eye on some
succulents that I really don’t need but they’re just so sweet and I want
them!

(Let’s just hope I don’t inadvertently massacre them all. I don’t have the greatest track record with houseplants…if you care to click over to this super old post you can read all about the time I killed a cactus. It was tragic.)