Report From PIA – December 2
When my mother-in-law came for an extended stay last year, she brought her two houseplants. One was a scraggly Dracaena that she’s had in her living room every since I first met her in 1971. The other was an African violet.
I repotted the African violet because the container it was in wasn’t draining, and the plant looked a bit sick. “It’s been a good plant,” my mother-in-law said, meaning that it lived and bloomed for her, which is what we want from a houseplant after all.
It’s still “a good plant.” Given fresh soil and an unglazed pot, the piece I potted up has been flowering for months. Seeing this African violet in full bloom makes me think that it isn’t just the plant that’s satisfactory. The relationship between the person and the plant is the crucial factor here. The plant needs to do well in the conditions, and with the care, that it’s given, and the owner of the plant needs to be willing to provide those circumstances.
Relationships between people are very similar, I think. All who are involved need to extend themselves and provide attention to the others, while being in a situation that allows everyone to grow.
My two African violets thrive in this bright Northern window, and they seem to do well when I allow them to go a bit dry between waterings.
