[Tuesday] Ode To the Kitchen Windowsill Plants. Again.

Hello green apples, and happy Tuesday!

I’ve been thinking about my houseplants a lot lately. Yesterday, mr_subjunctive over at Plants Are the Strangest People celebrated his 3rd blogiversary of writing about houseplants. I celebrated my first year last week.

mr_s wondered why so many people started houseplant blogs in October. Even before he posed the question, I was thinking about it. Over the course of the last year, I’ve veered away from the houseplants toward the gardens outside. Not forgetting the houseplants, but just focusing on the outdoor plants. Now that the weather is cooling off, I’ve been spending more time reconnecting with the indoor plants.

I thought it was high time I started featuring them again on this site. Afterall, it’s the indoor houseplants that led me to blogging in the first place – they can’t fend for themselves, so if you bring a plant into the house, you have to take care of it. I wanted to teach people how to do a better job of that.

Do you remember back in May when I featured my kitchen windowsill plants? I spend a LOT of time in my kitchen, so I wrote about my windowsill plants that are above the sink. I love them. I admire them as I’m cooking, cleaning, snacking, whatever.

Since they’re the most adored, I thought it was only fair to start with them.

This kitchen windowsill looks a lot different from the one back in May. Back then, I used the space to start a bunch of herbs. Those went outdoors to live, and these new plants took ownership of the sill.

Sam the Aloe plant on the left has been there for a long time. Folklore says an Aloe in your kitchen will help protect your home from fire. Since I haven’t had any housefires, I’m crediting my good safety sense and Sam’s presence.

All three of the little Jades were started when I pruned Rosa the Jade. I haven’t named any of them. Suggestions? I’m considering naming them “Goodness,” “Gracious,” and “Great Balls of Fire,” but that’s only because Dad gave some baby owls those names when I was a kid, and for whatever reason, I’ve been having lots of owl conversations lately. But, I digress.

Miss Mimosa, the Sensitive plant, has totally stolen my heart. You may remember that I got her from Kathi, who owns Rio Valley Greenhouses, when I was at the farmers’ market a few weeks ago. I featured her nursery as one of my favorites before I realized it was the same nursery that sold plants at the market every week. She told me to keep the plant somewhere warm, and my south facing kitchen window is perrrrrrfect for her. She’s already unfurled two new leaves. Kathi told me to pinch them back so she grows bushy, but I let those two grow because they were so cute! She immediately started to put out two more, so I cut those back. I can’t wait to watch her grow.

Sensitive plants are great because they move – if you touch their leaves, they immediately fold up and close (which, was funny when I snipped the new leaves – she folded up and pouted and I had to explain that it was for her own good). I started this site to teach people that plants are living, breathing creatures that depend on human care, so she is my perfect ambassador.

With a little luck, I’ll be able to get some of her sisters (or offspring) and take them to schools around Albuquerque so the kids can see the plants move. Once they can see that plants are alive, it won’t be too hard for them to imagine that plants might also have personalities, or wish that they could do cartwheels. If I were rootbound, I’d long to do somersaults. Anyway, as long as the kids get it, I’m happy.

I’ll be showing off Candy the Lime tree, Nel the Spider plant, Nebraska the Wandering Jew, Peach the Norfolk Island Pine, Easter the Christmas Cactus and all the others in the coming weeks. Woohoo, good times!

I’ll be back manana, hope to see you here.