How House Plant Leaves Develop

Some of you are probably sleeping in if you waited for the new year to roll around. I’ve never done that. Guess I’m a stick in the mud. Went to bed around 9:30 as usual.

Charlie has hardly been coughing at all. And because of the holidays he hasn’t been to an acupuncture appointment in two weeks.

So I ordered another cool mist humidifier that has a farther range. I will put that in the living room/dining room area.

The other will stay, mercifully, in the bedroom. I say mercifully because it’s kind of heavy with the water in it and my back is still giving me problems.

It’s a pain to have to move out a piece of furniture to get to an outlet twice a day. I have to do this because there really aren’t enough electrical outlets in this apartment.

One of the residents, a man who has lived here for 16 years, had his place rewired due to this.

Move furniture, plug it in. Evening: move furniture, pull it out and take to bedroom and repeat. Next day do the same.

I know that moist air is supposed to keep your skin from drying out too much in winter, and I already have dry skin. Also it makes the plants happy.

Sorry this photo is kind of dark. It’s evening in this one. Took it last night.

I just adore that lamp. Gives a soft glow where you don’t need a whole lot of light. And all for $12.49!

Speaking of plants, I was thinking how I so enjoy watching new leaves sprout on my house plants. What’s so interesting is how each one of them is different in how they open or unfurl and become a full leaf.

You’re probably thinking: Lord, the woman has no life. She watches plant leaves unfurl.

I’ve always been interested in how things work and develop. I guess I also find it fascinating because it’s a part of nature and I love anything nature related.

House plants are how I make it through the cold dreary winter without outdoor blooms.

My neighbor was over last week and was particularly interested in the above plant. It almost doesn’t look real but I assure you that it is.

It is an Alocasia, also known as the African mask plant.

I’ve never had one before, but I have one in the graphic in my blog header so I thought when I came across it at Southwoods that I should have one in my home as well.

This light that appears on the wall in the morning drives Ivy crazy. She wants to get to it and paw it so bad but obviously she can’t reach it.

I watched the third episode of Vera last night. She is really growing on me. I like that she is abrupt and a bit tactless. I guess because I’m kind of that way too.

I like how she says exactly what she’s thinking and heaven forbid anyone get their feelings hurt. Because Vera doesn’t care.

She walks around in her dowdy clothes proud as a peacock. The woman is not at all subtle or feminine.

Vera has, I guess you could say, charmed me as an independent, fearless woman who will get to the truth no matter who she has to run over to get there.

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39 Comments

  1. Brenda, your comment about watching leaves unfurl made me laugh out loud, but of course you do have a life!! A life where you can enjoy the miracles of nature, love your precious pets so much, and love your home is a life to be envied. These may sound like very unimportant things to some people, but those of us who feel the way you do know that these things and other simple pleasures are what life is really all about. It’s wonderful that you share your thoughts and time with all of us every day. I think you’re awesome! I look forward to what you have to share with us in the new year!

  2. You need to get Ivy one of those laser light pointers, and exercise her that way!

  3. I’m a member of the No-Life Club too, Brenda, and I love my “no-life.” I can’t have indoor plants because my beloved calico cat Matilda eats them, but I would love to watch leaves unfurl. We’re about the same age, so maybe enjoying a “no-life” is part of aging and having had too much drama in life in our younger years. Also, a 9:30 bedtime on New Year’s Eve suits me just fine. I like to wake up on New Year’s Day in one piece to enjoy the morning. Best wishes for a healthy and peaceful new year to you!

  4. Hi. Happy New Year! You might check out a plant called Oenothera biennis, or Evening Primrose. The flowers on this plant open over the course of several minutes at sunset and you can sit and watch them open up and it’s really fun. It’s native to Oklahoma so it should withstand the heat. Not sure how it would do in a container, but, in the wild it grows along old roads and railroad tracks, so it seems pretty tough. It has a wonderful lemon color and fragrance and moths and butterflies like it. I found a start at a nursery but I’ve seen seeds for sale online.

  5. Love your new lamp. I, too, love just a little light here and there..especially because I get up very early and gradually adjust to daylight. Great find.. That Ivy is a cutie petutie. Have a blessed new year..and all of those healthy houseplants most likely promote good health for you, too. !!

  6. I love houseplants too and have about as many as my windows allow. But I have never seen as many as one of my daughters-in-law has or seen any young woman love them so much. And she is a passionate gardener. You would like her, I know. I love her to pieces!

    I have wanted to see Vera but can only get it On Demand for almost $7 an episode. Have you read the books? I keep meaning to try them.

  7. Happy New Year! Of course you have a life. It’s full of sharing and caring and observing the beauty of the natural world. I am so lucky to benefit from your stories and especially your photography. I don’t often comment but wanted you to know how happy I am to have found your blog.

  8. I don’t think getting excited about new growth on your plants means you don’t have a worthwhile life and if it does, then that includes me! I love watching my plants sprout new growth and I do get excited when there is a new leaf or shoot. It’s a barren life that doesn’t recognize and enjoy the simple things. And I’ve read the same sentiments in other comments on this post so I guess we are all in good company.

    So glad the humidifier is helping Charlie so much. Good idea to get another one.

    New Years Eve was pretty much like any other for me. I went to bed around 10:30 and read until a bit after 12:00, then went to sleep. My daughter and her boys were here and she let them stay up until 10pm as they had both had naps in the afternoon. They had gotten up about 4am because their new kittens woke them up! Now we have three cats! Not my idea, but my daughter thinks we need them for mousing. Will they mouse? Possibly, possibly not! But the boys love them, so that is good. I think it’s important for children to be around animals and learn how to treat them kindly and to take care of them. These boys will be nine in a couple of weeks so they are old enough. Anyway, today was filled with all the noise and conflict and loud music and mom getting annoyed you can imagine. Not a very celebratory New Year’s Day, but quiet now as the boys have gone to their dad’s. I always feel relieved to have some peace and quiet when they go but conflicted because I miss them and I think they get better care here. I just resolve to enjoy and take advantage of the “down” time here.

    Here’s to 2020 being a good year for all of us. May our fondest wishes be realized and our gratitude flow freely!

  9. Brenda, it is so refreshing to read your blog. I enjoy reading about the way you like to shop for a bargain, that is the way I shop. I also enjoy watching my plants grow ! Wishing you a happy and healthy new year !

  10. Brenda, wishing you a Happy, Healthy, New Year! I enjoy checking in on you, Charlie and Ivy everyday. It is a blessing that we are content with the simple things in life and have the time to enjoy them.

  11. I stay up late most nights…and last night my brain would not shut off…so was up till nearly 5 AM…when a project is brewing in my brain, then sleep eludes me!! I am glad to hear that whatever you are doing seems to be helping Charlie…and that cat is just silly…but the silly ones are great entertainment. We had a silly dog that made us laugh so much and that is good medicine too!!

  12. Happy New Year, Brenda! I love my houseplants, too – they always get extra TLC in winter when I don’t have a garden to tend to. It will soon be time to begin my seed starting….that keeps me busy also! After the decorations are gone, I’ll take a seed inventory and see if I need to order anything….I doubt it somehow, but maybe. I also bought a ton of spring bulbs on clearance at Brecks in November….they are sitting in the crisper drawer of my downstairs fridge, and I’ll start forcing them in January – can’t wait!

  13. Dearest Brenda, wishing you Health and Prosperity and a Happy New Year. One of my fondest memories as a child and now is watching the bare trees grow tiny buds then leaves and flowers. How fortunate are we who have time to stop and smell the roses and watch the leaves unfurl. Warmly, Susan

  14. Happy New Year! Sadly our house plants came down w that pesky little black bug They are in time out for now outside where they are safe Hoping to bring them back in soon after treatment I tried watching Vera once and couldn’t get into her. Just started watching Call the Midwife. I’m enjoying it. Definitely another time in our world existence.

  15. New Year’s Eve, in bed at 9:00. Today watering all my house plants and watching my Christmas cactus sprout new flowers. Count me among those who have no life and loving it!!

  16. I’m thinking that watching leaves unfurl is having a beautiful, glorying – in -nature life….not the other way around. All this trend to mindfulness…you already have it!
    Happy New Year!
    Wilhelmina

    1. I always pity people who can’t stop “and smell the roses.” They are missing so much and they don’t even realize it.

  17. Happy New Year Brenda! Have you thought of getting a power strip for the humidifier? That way the power strip could be under or next to the piece of furniture, and you could simply flip the switch on the power strip, rather than moving furniture and plugging in and out. That’s what we do for our Christmas tree, and it saves my back. Wishing you, Charlie and Ivy a healthy 2020! 😉

    1. I already have power strips in most of my outlets and they’re full! The outlet is behind the chair in the living room and then behind that piece of furniture where I store my dishes inside. Would have to move the chair anyway.

  18. Happy New Year Brenda!
    I am a constant follower of your blog,
    but I never post myself and don’t have
    a blog. I think I did ask you a question
    once when Pat died. Love your blog.

  19. Brenda, I feel your pain with the heavy stuff to move around. Here’s what I did: put the heavy item on a plant roller. You won’t have to lift the whole thing, just pick up one side, slide it onto the base of the roller and center. Now it’s possible to just roll it anywhere!

    1. This humidifier leaks easily when transporting. I have to carry it very carefully. Either something is wrong with it or I haven’t figured out something. Too much trouble to send back because it does work.

    1. One more thing to have to store somewhere. I’m filled to the brim right now. Be cheaper to just get the other humidifier than a small rolling cart.

  21. You would be surprised at how many of your readers observe how their plants unfurl, or grow. I have a gardenia plant that had not grown flowers in 4 yrs. Suddenly, at the end of spring, only 2 beautiful flowers finally blossomed. I cut back the plant a bit, and I am noticing every little leaf grow out.
    Love that lamp too!
    Vera doesn’t show it right away but she has a soft side, hidden way down inside, and only shows it on rare occasions.
    Love her character too!
    Confident in her own skin.

  22. I absolutely love your house Brenda. I don’t often comment but most every day I read your blog.
    Love the lamps you got from Hobby Lobby and what bargains. Fabulous! We watch Vera too, I think you summed her up just right.

    Glad Charlie is not coughing as much. Ivy has grown into a beautiful cat, I like to hear about her antics.

    I am a stick in the mud too, never stay up to see the new year in now.

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