Feb 23/10: Plants

Feb 23/10: Plants, originally uploaded by susanvg.

My home is full of plants. I know they supply me with oxygen and some are known to actually help clean the air. I need the feeling of life plants offer, especially in the long winter months when plant life stops outdoors.

I revel in their growth, delight in new flowers and appreciate their resilience. Despite my irregular watering and rare fertilizing, they flourish. Maybe we need to keep that in mind when working with children. We need to nurture them, but give them the space to find their path. Too much nurturing may stunt their possibilities.

Day 300: Flowering Cactus

Day 300: Flowering Cactus, originally uploaded by susanvg.

My plants are confused. While they usually thrive under my benign neglect, my house renovations have certainly put them off their normal patterns. My orchids, which usually bloom for a long time have shed all their flowers, unwilling to display their beauty among the construction noise and dust. My Christmas cacti have thrived. I'm told they flower when they are stressed, so this may be why I have four plants which are covered in buds. This one is the first to have open flowers. Maybe they have the right attitude - when the going gets tough, put on something nice and keep growing, unlike my shy orchids who just can't take the changes.