My Other Green Kids

For the last year or so, I've been keeping an indoor garden. At first it was a houseplant I took home from an old job. It grew fine. It didn't do much but grow leaves and shed.Then I got an amaryllis for a Christmas gift. It was very sweet, but I hadn't thought much about a garden then. Per the directions, it said something about waiting until spring or fall to plant it into the pot. I waited and did what I thought it said. For the next year, she grew some leaves but they shed rather quickly. I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong. My mom said something about putting it near a window or changing places in case it was the ideal environment. No dice.

Months after that, I really wanted to grow some herbs. I wanted my plants/garden to be purposeful. J and I went to Home Depot one day and picked up basil, parsley, rosemary and peppermint. I thought we could add basil to Italian dishes, parsley for decor or a fresh flavor and peppermint was prime for mojitos. Fast forward, parsley was covered with eggs and eventually was killed to save the greater good of the rest. I also let the peppermint go as it never tasted right in our drinks, duh, I was supposed to have gotten spearmint. I did find some spearmint later.

Somewhere in between all these comings and goings of the garden, I gave each one a name. There was Amy Amaryllis. I had Bobby Basil who when happy grows like no longers. It was Patty Parsley, oh well. Rose Rosemary is a sweetie, especially since I gave her a bigger pot. Lastly, there's Marty Mint.

A month or so back, they were struggling from the late summer/winter timeframe. I decided to dig them out of their pots and rejigger them. As my mother claims, sometimes plants just need to be aerated. I did that and they seem so much happier. The most surprising was Amy Amaryllis. She's up to six leaves, which is a complete record. Previously, she only had two healthy and sometimes two yellowing leaves. When I repotted her, I lifted her up so she's peak out above the dirt. I think that's made the complete difference. While she's up to six leaves, none of them look like they're ready to go. It could just be the first time I might see her want to flower. Oh, it reminds me. I need to get the flower food from the garage to give them all a special treat. Go kids, go!