Vegetation – Or, apartment, adorned.

I usually start my mornings with a quick review of the vegetal front: aloe veras, jade plants, cactuses, dragon tree, ornemental kale… I check their need for water, light, their growing of new sprouts, I rid them of dry leaves and I dust them up. I enjoy doing this. It gives me a sense of control and of time passing. I’ve only had a few deaths, of course always mysterious and disconcerting. Too much water? Too little? Who knows with plants. I take no credit with my success in keeping not only alive but actually thriving a jade tree for the past three years. I’ve even felt bold enough to repot it several times, prune it drastically last year, and eventually, feeling adventurous, splitting it into two trees. Still alive and well!

In addition to my plants, for the past week I’ve had some new guests: Valentine’s Day brought me some lovely flowers. I broke down the huge bouquet into several smaller ones and placed them all around the apartment. We live in a small studio, which isn’t great for impromptu dance parties, but is great for all-day floral staring contests.

It’s been a week but they’re holding up pretty well. A few roses closest to the radiator have dried up quicker than the rest but they still look and smell great. And they make me happy every time I look at them, which is, admittedly, way too often. I’ve got work to do! Damn flowers. (And yes, that is a giant Bruegel puzzle on our wall. Don’t ask.)