Brown Thumb

Have ya’ll seen the movie 28 Days? Well all I really remember about it is that there are these people in a rehab for different addictions. One of their rules for going back into society is first they have to keep a plant alive, then a pet, then they are ready for a relationship. If I were them I would fail at the first task miserably. Maybe this also explains why we just aren’t pet people either.

I have been aware of the fact that I just can’t seem to keep a houseplant alive since I went off to college. My first apartment I got came with a care package that included hanging ivy. It died shortly after I moved in. Then for many years I was plantless until Ronnie got me a geranium for Mother’s Day one year when we lived in Colorado. I tried to take care of it then decided it was best to plant it outside where it soon died from lack of water. Then last spring I got a great idea to plant a vegetable garden in Las Vegas. Well it actually went well, partially from the fact that it was watered on an automatic timer. After harvesting radishes, corn, tomatoes, cantaloupes, eggplants, carrots, and strawberries I had a renewed confidence of growing plants.

With my newly found green thumb I set out of find some houseplants. I wanted three houseplants of varying sizes and shades of green. I even did some research to find the easy to grow varieties. Then I set out to purchase them which were a bit difficult to find the varieties I wanted at the height I wanted, but I did find them all at last. I found them all a nice spot in the corner of my living room where they were able to get a little sunlight. They seemed happy in their new home until I had to move them to make room from the Christmas tree. The one that was supposed to be the easiest to grow started dropping its leaves daily. I thought the problem was that maybe they were getting too cold because they were by a window that doesn’t get much sunlight at all and is quite drafty. Then I went to move it and the plant was really heavy. I took a closer look and discovered the problem. The poor plant was sitting in six inches of water. Well at least I found the problem but I think it’s too late to save the plant.

Unfortunately my daughter is also developing my brown thumb. She got a cute little ivy for her room that she could take care of herself. I check on it yesterday and found it dying from lack of water. I tried to water it and it was so dry that the water just rolled down the sides of the plant and down to plate it was sitting on. I had to soak the pant for a while in the sink before it started to absorb water. We’ll see if it makes a comeback but I don’t have much hope.