Inside the Greenhouse

I’m living in a greenhouse. Well, maybe not an actual greenhouse, but when I look at our sunniest windows, plant and flowers dominate the sill. I see an orchid, a cactus, an amaryllis, corn, a cup of dirt, and a geranium. If the list seems odd, I can explain. The corn and cup of dirt are kid projects. The rest of the plants belong either on the window sill or they’re waiting for a permanent  home outside in our flower bed. We expect house plants to sit on window sills and innocently soak up the sun’s rays, but I'm intrigued by the usual plants. Take a look at a plant that soaks up more than sunrays:

                                     

                                            http://youtu.be/trWzDlRvv1M

 It’s hard to tell if we just saw a plant video, a horror video or both. I say both!  As you can see, the pitcher plant looks harmless, but it is not your average garden plant—it eats meat, for goodness sake! What about you? What do you wish people would see beyond when they look at you, and what do you want them to know and understand about you?  

 

A Tiny Tree and a Giant Zucchini

In an earlier post (July 13, Whoosh!…), we discussed how summer is nearly over. Well, I looked out my window and, lo and behold—it is autumn! OK, not really. We have a tiny tree in our yard that’s been putting up a good fight for years. Now, after multiple heat waves, the tree’s brown leaves seem to scream for tender loving care.  Unfortunately, I have a theory (yes, another one). Here it is: water the flowers, the trees are on their own (sorry arborists).  Some of our trees, including the little sick one, would require too much e-x-e-r-c-i-s-e to care for them. Remember from the July 22 post (The Other Boomerang Effect) how tree-watering would NOT fit into my current work-out schedule? I’m not fond of cumbersome hoses and sloshing water buckets.

Shortly after I noticed our suffering tree, someone gave us a massive zucchini. This veggie measured fourteen inches long and three and a half inches in diameter. A gardener put love and care into cultivating that plant. I learned that a zucchini isn’t difficult to grow. Give them a little attention—water, sun and fertilizer and—you’ll have a huge, healthy vegetable.

Our tiny tree and the giant zucchini are great metaphors for our various relationships. Some flourish when we nurture them and others—when we neglect them—not so much.  Here’s great advice from Auntie Artichoke’s video.                   

Too bad she didn’t give the five things necessary to nourish our relationships. We can create our own list. Based on your life experience, what’s your most important relationship and how do you nourish it?