Pimples
Have you ever really looked at a plant?
I mean really looked at a plant? Maybe
you have a houseplant that sits quietly by a sunny window and never says a word. I have a favorite houseplant too. I really never knew what kind it was, but it sure was
tropical looking and healthy. I
took good care of it, routinely watered it, sprayed the leaves on occasion,
fertilized it once a month, pulled out the dead leaves and showed it some
attention.
Finally one day I really looked at my houseplant.
I guess you could say I wanted to know everything about it.
I found out my plant is a "Schefflera Actinophylla."
A fast growing, tropical looking plant, with long stalked leaves divided
into leaflets that spread out like fingers of a hand.
You can find them around some swimming pools too.
I quickly came to realize that if I didn't water it, fertilize it, check
it for bugs, or adopt the proper lighting it would soon dry up, wilt, look very
sad and eventually it would die. I
didn't want that to happen to such a lovely plant.
So I showed an interest in it's well being.
I nurtured it when it was sick. I
kept the bug predators away from it with a natural pesticide to keep it healthy.
I showered it with cool refreshing water and fertilized it giving it the
nutrients it needed to grow. I
really looked at that plant in a different way and realized that we sometimes
take the simple things in life for granted.
By giving unconditional love, we get love in return. By this I mean my Schefflera plant is creating a healthy
environment for me as well. Plants
take in carbon dioxide (CO2), which they use in photosynthesis.
Then the left over is oxygen in which they emit and we breathe.
I had given my time and love freely and gotten love in return.
I guess if you give your growing plant a personal name it
becomes more of a person than a thing. Whenever
you go on vacation and leave him alone he quickly shows signs of neglect.
Just as you wouldn't leave a child alone, you shouldn't leave a living
plant alone either. I decided to name my Schefflera plant "Pimples."
Kind of a cute and unique name that would bring joy to me each time I
said it. Also it would invite
attention from other people as well. Whenever
they heard me refer to my plant "Pimples," they would ask to know more
about him and maybe show a deeper interest in their own plants.
When my lovely Schefflera plant grew to large for my place, I decided to
plant him in the proper location outside where he had a chance to thrive in the
natural elements. I felt strong that he would survive because Mother Nature has
a special way of taking care of her young.
Just as I had taken care of "Pimples" all these years!
Copyright
1997 by Author Patti Tricoli
