Green friends

Moonlighting. A blog by Judy Cools.

I love my little green friends….. from vines to cacti, from the smooth shiny leaves of the potted trees to the fuzzy green collection of African Violets in my kitchen, each has a special place not only in our house, but in my heart.

It seems that many things in my world get to stay there as the result of some story attached to them. The plants are no different. I grew this one from a seed….. I bought that one when we were on vacation….. My friend gave me a cutting of the one over there…. and my dear departed friend or neighbor or relative used to own that one. When ever I try to get rid of some of the jungle, the stories linger and I just don’t want to part with them.

Then you have the new plants I’ve started from the cuttings of old plants, because it just doesn’t seem right to throw something away when it wants to live and grow. I try to give away the cuttings or the young plants, but sometimes there just are no takers. And so it goes.

One favorite is a family fig tree that produces edible figs. The story with that one goes back to my grandparents’ immigration nearly 100 years ago. Grandpa smuggled a twig from the tree his native Italy to bring figs to his new home in America. How could you get rid of that?

My husband is patient with me, although I know he’d like fewer little green friends in the house. His tastes lean more toward carefully chosen and stunning. Mine are all about variety and abundance, memories and fun. Hubby will even water the collection at times, and show some interest when I excitedly come to tell him that something has bloomed.

I think of those blossoms as a “thank you” from the plants. I see it as them being happy and grateful – even though I really know better. The flowers make me feel good, though, and I like feeling good. I like joyful surroundings, and flowers bring joy no matter what.

© 2013, J. Cools