Green Thumb

(life.enhasa.org)

I like to think I have a lot of talents, and a few of them are related to being a good homemaker (I'm a decent cook and a pretty good hostess... I am also a great cleaner! Does that count as a talent?), however, there is one skill that always comes to mind when I think about my shortfalls:

I have the hardest time keeping plants alive.

There. I feel like I'm in some kind of PKA meeting (that's Plant Killers Anonymous). Hi, I'm Jenna, and I've killed about a dozen plants in my lifetime. It has been two weeks since my last plant kill. I uh, I have a spider plant alive now (still kept in its original styrofoam cup home), but... but it's only a matter of time!

 I'm kidding, of course (except for the styrofoam cup spider plant... that's true), I haven't killed two dozen plants. But I have killed 90 percent of all plants I have bought for myself. I'm serious. I did the math.

However, I have the next best thing to a personal gardner:

This is Boyfriend (of course), also known as Spider (Plant) Man... eh? Eh? Not funny? I chucked :o)

So anyway, Boyfriend's last name is something that, in my town, is pretty synonymous with plant care. He worked at a nursery when he was a teenager and as such, always picks the BEST flowers (the "happiest" ones, he says), the best Christmas trees, and can identify and grow almost any type of flower or shrub.

I think that plant care is one of the more masculine/feminine hobbies. I mean, Boyfriend is a masculine guy, so I really love seeing him when he helped my parents landscape their yard. He can be so gentle with the plants and knows exactly how much water or sunlight is required for each. I love when he points out interesting or hybridized or complicated plants.

But at the same time, I HATE that I kill plants! I mostly overwater them, which always makes Boyfriend sigh, shake his head, and work his magic at fixing my mistakes (apparently, it's easier to fix an underwatered plant than an overwatered one!), which he has, on TWO orchids so far.

Sigh. I guess my next step should be actually bring my styrofoam spider plant home to Spider Plant Man to give it a happy home. Then I'll work on keeping it alive. One step at a time.