Sunday 18th March - The Last Survivors (I'm talking about houseplants!)

We have four, and only four, houseplants in this house. There were more in the past. The lucky ones have moved to my mother's house, where they receive tender loving care, regular and appropriate quantities of water and even plant food. The unlucky ones are now compost.

Our spider plant has been with us for decades. Every so often it decides to procreate, and lots of little tiny spider plantlets appear. These have been redistributed. They made a Sunday School activity (a dozen little plantlets were prodded into plastic cups of earth and sent home, in illustration of some scriptural concept or other - with a little thought they can demonstrate all sorts of biblical basics. Another brood were donated to an art student's project; she planted them all into the seat of an upholstered dining chair...  (art?)

One of my daughter's friends presented me with a baby aloe vera plant in a yoghurt pot about fifteen years ago. Every so often it, too, suddenly sprouts little baby plants. Experience has taught me that if I don't do something about the over-crowding fairly soon, Mother Vera will solve the problem by breaking the pot - again.

I was given a pink begonia by a music pupil. I think it was back in November.My heart sank as I thanked the giver, because I knew its chances of survival were slim. The last couple of begonias couldn't cope with a regime of alternating abundance and scarcity of water, and eventually died of dehydration, rot or despair. This one is still hanging in there... looking a little drunk, leaning dangerously close to the breakmaking machine.


And this is the newest arrvial; a sweet little tin jug full of campanula. Fingers crossed....