I Speak Fluent Plant

So, if you read this blog, chances are you know me in real life. And if you know me in real life, chances are you know I'm just coming out of a deep and somewhat debilitating blue period, during which I did very little aside from go to work in the morning (okay, morning is a relative term) and curl up in bed with my laptop every night.

I didn't notice how much my sadness changed me during that time until the fog started lifting. And what opened my eyes wasn't just the fact that my house was thoroughly thrashed (I don't clean during the best of times, so you can only imagine the state of my house right now) but the little plant that sits outside my front door, who had suddenly become very sickly.

I don't want you to think I forgot about her or stopped watering her while I was sad. On the contrary, I took care of her exactly as I normally do, or so I thought. I set her out to get sunshine on warm days and watered her a few times a week. Nonetheless, she had gone from a vibrant green plant to a very listless one, covered with yellowing leaves. Nothing I did seemed to help. I tried watering a little less, removing the dead leaves, cleaning off the top layer of her soil...all to no avail. It wasn't the weather, as she was outside during the coldest nights this winter and always stayed healthy and strong.

Now, I've had my little plant for almost a year. If you know about my genetic "black thumb", you know that it's completely unheard of for me to have a plant past a few weeks if I'm lucky. (I've killed orchids in mere days.) I bought her prior to my Memorial Day weekend potluck last year. Of the five plants I purchased, she was the only one that made it past a month. I have her on my front porch so I don't forget to water her, and I usually pause for a moment on my way out the door to say good morning to her and comment on how pretty she looks.

USUALLY.

I figured out over the weekend that I hadn't spoken to my little plant in weeks. Sure, I'd been taking care of her physical needs, but I hadn't remembered to give her the love that I'd been showing for the past eight months we've been together. Once I realized what was going on, I immediately started dropping sweet nothings on her every day. Not only did she immediately perk up, she even gave forth a little white bloom this week, completely unexpectedly! I know it sounds crazy, but I really think my talking to her has made all the difference.

Here are the things I love about my little plant (she's a Vinca, by the way):

1. She's still alive despite my poor plant parenting skills.

2. She blooms multiple times each year with pretty white flowers.

3. She makes my house look prettier just by being there.

4. She never wakes me up screaming in the middle of the night because her food bowl is empty.

5. She loves me, too - she almost died without my affection!