Inside and Outside

Inside and Outside

I have two pots of African violets sitting on my kitchen windowsill. Most of the time they just have fuzzy green leaves and no flowers but I like them anyway. This summer they started to bloom. Each little stem carried three or four beautiful flowers and more stems kept blooming. It has been a real treat for me to see every time I go to the sink and look up.

I also love the hibiscus plants outside my kitchen window. They have two blossoming times, one in the beginning of summer and the other at the season’s end. Their vibrant red flowers are riveting.

Today I looked at the African violets as I was pouring water into my teapot and was drawn to look outside at the hibiscus flowers. I gasped with pleasure. The inside flowers were beautiful. The outside flowers were beautiful. It made me suddenly aware of how beauty exists in both areas. We are amazing beings inside ourselves, full of intelligence and diversity. But we also are part of the outside world, interacting with what nature and other humans offer. If we can just remember that everything is part of the whole perhaps we can allow our inside and outside worlds to coexist in peace.

Yogi tea tag: “Be kind to others, but always be compassionate to yourself.”

Pretty Pinks

Pretty Pinks

The daffodils are now in full bloom in my backyard. Such a beautiful display. Vibrant yellow flowers brighten up even a cloudy day. The purple periwinkle flowers add their own vibrance in the groundcover that ambles through various spots in the garden. Soon nurseries will be advertising flats of blossoming plants to begin the spring planting season.

I appreciate the rejuvenation of the outside perennials each year yet I don’t want to neglect something that has been blooming all through the winter – my African Violet. It is an indoor plant that has been putting out pretty pink blossoms for much of the year.

I don’t take my African Violet for granted. I know it needs proper tending. The plant needs light, though not direct sunlight, so the north-facing windowsill where it resides is perfect. It likes water but not too much. When the soil seems dry, I give the plant a drink. The recommendation is to water it from the bottom so as not to get the leaves wet. I usually do though sometimes it gets a good soak from the top. No doubt the nurseries wouldn’t approve but my sweet plant doesn’t seem to mind. If the leaves appear a little droopy, I give the plant some food and it perks right up.

All living things have their particular requirements. I value this plant and want it to thrive so I give it what it needs. I value relationships and want them to thrive, too. I try to nurture them in ways that will keep them strong and healthy. We may not all need the same things but care and attention is something everyone – and everything – can benefit from. My African Violet seems to like the interest I take in it. Surely friends and family deserve as much.

Here are tips for caring for African Violets:

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/africanviolet.html

African Violets

My mother-in-law loved African violets. Over the years she propagated hundreds, if not thousands, of plants. She had grow lights above rows and rows of pots. The flowers glowed in various shades of pink, purple, lavender, and blue. Some plants had white flowers with purple ruffled edges, some had double pedaled blossoms. I was surprised at the variety of possibilities that existed. She insisted on keeping the plants small, though I have seen plants that bloomed in twelve-inch pots, diligently removing any stray outcroppings and paring the stems to keep them contained. She was a faithful member of the African violet Society where she lived in Arizona, attending their shows and displaying her plants. Raising the violets was less of a hobby than a passion.

I can’t say that I am as enamored of African Violets as she was, but I have come to appreciate their delicate beauty. I have one plant out of the many she gave me over the years that still survives. It was doing well and then I moved it to another space in the house that it didn’t seem to like as much. It drooped and I thought I would surely lose it. I took leaf cuttings and am trying to resurrect it. When roots sprout I will repot it and return it to its original location. In the meantime, I have a store-bought plant is flowering and makes me smile. I don’t think I will ever be as good an African violet cultivator as Mom was but I am grateful that she helped me to see the fine quality of this tiny bit of nature.

Here is just about everything you need to know about the care and cultivation of African violets. Feel free to share your experiences with this lovely plant. http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/africanviolet.html http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/rg322.pdf