Air Plants

Blooming!

I've loved the concept of air plants since I first found out about them - plants which survive only on air and water - no dirt required. I've tried to grow them a number of times, with varying degrees of success. They'd live for a while, then I'd either forget to dunk them in water or the air would be drier than normal, and they'd slowly die, trading their quiet gray-green color for dead brown.

I've worked especially hard to keep my last set of plants alive (they arrived at Christmas this past year). This time, I did a little research when they came to reside with me - turns out, instead of just getting dunked in water, they prefer to have a long cool bath once a week; to soak in the water for an hour. And, they like to be misted in-between waterings. Makes complete sense when I think about it.

So, I've been watering and misting as instructed. I found them a lovely little terrarium home, and they started to flourish, happily taking more space in their watering bowl each week. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I noticed the leaves of one of the three plants were turning brown. I was sad - here I thought I'd been doing so well! I gave it a little extra love and attention after watering for the next several days, making sure I misted the little plant thoroughly each time they even started to look dry.

My sick one kept getting worse, most of its leaves turning a brownish-red. I resigned myself to its likely fate. But then, but then... I walked into the room after work one day to find it had popped up two purple spears from its heart, and had crowned the stems with tiny yellow flowers.

It hadn't been busy dying before its time, it had been getting ready to bloom!
I hadn't done it wrong, I'd done it just right.

Such a pleasant surprise; I didn't know the plants ever flowered. I've taken time every day to enjoy its color and beauty. The flowers have already started to fade, a bit of research tells me the plant has reached old age, and will soon die a natural death. If I am lucky, it will leave behind a baby plant or two - I've been watching for them, but nothing has shown up just yet.

I'm still not overly happy with the concept, but I've come to accept that death is a necessary part of life. And I can only hope, when my time inevitably comes, I can be a little bit like my plant, and get to bring a bit of beauty and happiness into the world on my way out the door.