Love and Growth: Living with Plants
Have you noticed the flora around your enjoying the rainy season? One of the perks of being a plant owner is watching your plants come alive during this season. It has a knock-on effect on dopamine leaves in their owners. Don’t you want to experience the joys of house plant ownership? It’s a back-and-forth relationship that can last a lifetime!
On a cloudy day during the rainy season, I cleaned my balcony window with a squeegee and brushed the deck. Then, I brought out a 140cm tall Polyscias fruticose plant to the balcony to spray water on its leaves using a mister. Occasionally, letting the plants come into direct contact with the outside air can invigorate them. The jagged leaves seemed to be happily smiling.
And the vitality tonic called “Doymo(Soil Mother),” with the slogan “Space Food for Plants” appears to be working, and new, thin branches are beginning to grow all at once, even where the leaves had fallen and looked shabby, a very happy result.
Next, I carefully moved the pot containing Altissima, which had grown to about 2 meters, to the balcony. Since it was too tall, I gave up after reaching the window door and decided to water the leaves there. Altissima has large leaves, so I sprayed each leaf one by one and found that there were four new leaves under the large one! They are in front of the electric piano, but the leaves were so big that I couldn’t see them at all.
This Altissima came to my house in June 2007. I bought it at an interior design store called Afternoon Tea about three months after I moved into my current house. At that time, there was only an Ivy, so this was my first houseplant purchase for interior decoration. At that time, however, I would never have imagined that I would live with it for the next 16 years.
When living with the same plant for 16 years, so many things really happen. I looked back at my blog in chronological order.
◎Biginning
2007.6：Bought Artesima and started growing it on my balcony.
◎Incident
2013.2：A gust of wind at the beginning of spring causes the pot to fall over and the new shoots are crushed.
2013.6：Decide to prune it.
2013.7：New leaves grow from the pruned area.
2014.9：The leaves turn yellow, so I try cuttings while keeping the main tree.
2014.11：New leaves grow from the cuttings.
Later, the cuttings are unsuccessful.
◎Reborn
2016.5：New leaves grow every year from the main tree Altissima.
2017.3：I dream that the pot of Artesima breaks.
2017.5：No new leaves grow from the body, so I throw away the body and try cuttings again.
2017.6：New leaves grow from the cuttings.
2018.4：One of the cuttings grows successfully and decides to grow it indoors.
◎Stable stage
2020.7：Grows to 140 cm high.
2023.3：It grew to 2 meters and became unstable, so I changed it to a German-made bottom-watering pot,
2023.6：New leaves are coming out from all growing points except the tip, which is surprising.
Aside from Altissima, there are 10 other plants in my room, each with its own growth story. There’s no time to be happy or sad about one particular houseplant, overly concerned with just one potted plant. Just as habits can coexist and create a symphony, nurturing multiple plants simultaneously significantly enhances communication with them and allows for long-term growth.
Taking a leap of faith in 2014 by discarding the main tree and exploring the possibilities of cuttings has led to an unforeseen future. Who could have imagined that I would now find myself beneath the watchful gaze of Altissima, a plant that has become an integral part of my life?
Living with plants teaches us patience, resilience, and the beauty of growth. It is also a process that brings forth the “love” within you. As I continue this journey, I am grateful for the experiences and the profound connection I’ve developed with nature. May the story of my plants serve as a reminder of the wonders that unfold when we cultivate and care for the living world around us.