Thursday 14 October 2021

Blogtober 2021 :: Day 14






A handful of plants from about the place. I used to have dozens of houseplants, maybe 80 or 90. I lived in a flat in a Victorian house with a huge sunlit stairwell where I kept lots of them. Now there is less space, plus children and a dog, so it has all gone smaller.

I like the slower growing ones now, like the jewel orchid in the penultimate photo. It's grown for the foliage rather than the flowers, although it does flower quite freely, they're just not as spectacular as some orchids. And yes, that is 'Eat That Frog!' next to the complete works of William Shakespeare. I haven't had time to attend to the filing of books recently and somehow that is where Brian Tracy (Get More Of The Important Things Done Today!) has ended up. 

The littlest boy bought me the stripey plant in the last photo on holiday. He is such a sweet thoughtful boy. I had stayed at the house with the dog while he went round the pencil museum and saw the largest pencil in the world. He brought me back that and a cockapoo mug and a pencil. In North Wales a couple of years ago he bought me a Welsh slate sign saying I'r ardd, or 'to the garden'. And for my birthday this year he has bought me a signed copy of a Philip Pullman book. You will recall how much love everything he writes, so I'm really looking forward to getting it in the post once it's published.

The other plant in the bottom photo is an air plant. It's outgrowing the pot, so I need to think of something else to do with it. I give it a soaking every few days and that keeps it going without the need for soil. 

Today was a parents' evening of sorts. It's all done via video link now which I think must be brilliant for the teachers as you get five minutes exactly, then it cuts you off. No more waffling on and on and on at them and making the whole shebang run late. The children have been trying to persuade me that being given an Amber for the attitude to learning is absolutely fine and expected and not an issue at all. I am not buying it and am putting together some cracking motivational speeches as well as some brutal threats. I will probably lead with the threats.

6 comments:

  1. Plants and books, what could be better?! I remember buying a plant pot and book at a charity shop recently and R commenting that my purchases just about summed me up. For the record, he bought a whisky glass - I'm saying nothing! :O) Your air plant looks magnificent. I keep forgetting to soak mine, although they did enjoy living outside on the picnic table during the summer. I must say, your son does buy brilliant presents; very thoughtful. I'm not sure if I would like a video link parents' evening. On the plus side there's no hanging around, but on the other hand I'd feel the urge to tidy the house beforehand! Happy speech writing! :O) xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have some lovely healthy plants, and a very thoughtful son.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Go with the motivational speeches. You certainly need an armoury of them for boys of a certain age. Love the sound of your youngest, so thoughtful. Quite a few plants here although my orchids are in decline at the moment. Not sure how long they should last. I’ve tried repotting them but still a bit feeble! Maybe time to get new ones. Lots of the pots from the garden have now been brought into the conservatory for winter. Getting a bit crowded in there! B x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'd have loved parent' evening via video. Some parents just wanted to have a genera; chat and it was disconcerting to see queues building up and frowning faces but without being rude there were only so many winding up strategies to use with parents determined to outstay their allocated time. How do you get to see the chidren's work though?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You don't! Although I imagine some of the more determined parents might ferret it out of a school bag from time to time.

      Delete
  5. Good post and pictures. An interesting selection of plants, and foliage can be just an fascinating as flowers as you show here. xx

    ReplyDelete