Your Houseplants Slow Dance

 Time-lapse photography shows houseplants dance. It's a slow motion dance, but their leaves are constantly, imperceptibly moving throughout the day. A video of prayer plant and oxalis next to a clock demonstrates the continual slow dance of houseplants.

We look at a houseplant and think Oh, I know what my philodendron looks like. Look again. And again.

Nothing stands still--not even our houseplants that are pot-bound, house-bound, and perhaps root-bound. The pots aren't moving, but their occupants are.

We think we are sitting still--sort of. Standing still. But we are in constant movement in and around our home. Our bodies are in constant motion--breathing, eyes blinking, heart beating. Every thought tenses some little or big muscles in the body.

We think we are sitting still and the world is moving around us. Look again.

Plop in the New Mums

I ordered my mums through the local Garden Club. The mums are so large ($8 each) that eight mums nearly filled my truck.

The change of seasons means it's time to change the flowerpots on the front step and the back step. Some of those flowerpots still look pretty darn good; others look tired or even very tired. I take the tired ones out of their ceramic pots and plop in the mums. There! That was easy.

We too go through a change of seasons--retirement, moving, or the death of a dear one, to name just a few. We can't just plop another friend in to replace the dearly departed one. We have to adjust to the new season, and often this means losing a part of our history. When we retire, we lose our working identity. When we move, friends who have known us for decades drift away. When a dear one dies, it feels like part of our heart has gone with them.

These transition times are good for realizing the self we thought we were, we actually aren't.

Peonies in the Right Place

Peonies are blooming!

I dug up these peonies from my boyfriend's house 40 years ago. That boyfriend is l-o-n-g gone, but the peonies still bloom.

I've moved these peonies about 5 times over the years. Here. No, there. Hmmm. Maybe over there? Last year, i moved them out to a strip bed near the vegetable garden, and this year, they are stronger than ever. I feel they are finally in the right-for-them location.

How about us? Am i in the right location for me? Are you in the right location for you?

My neighborhood has been having potlucks for the past year and talking about Aging in Place. Many of us have been in these homes we built for 40 years. Now is the time to make plans for my house to age along with me. Bedroom on the first floor. Grab bars in the bathrooms. A ramp to one entrance.

My flower gardens are the big reason i want to age in this place.