The Art Of Giving And Caring

Last week I had some guests and at some point one of them asked me what do I do with my cactus 🌵, that has such a nice, rounded shape and how often I water it. My answer was, when I remember to do it and was being honest.

At first glance this sounds like I don't care and neglect it, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The reason I water it occasionally, or rarely, is because cacti natively are adapted to dry, sunny environments. They are famous for surviving long periods without water and I'd like to give them the same treatment.

The lady told me that the form of the cactus is such nice round, when it is properly cared for. It made me smile and felt good to know, especially that she told me she almost killed hers by overwaterig. I mean I was happy I didn't kill mine.

Figuring out what each plant needs is an art. The road to success might not be easy and sometimes it can cost you more than what you want to pay.

At the flower festival this year, organized for the International Women's Day, I bought a pot of roses for myself because I've been planning to do so for ages and they had dark orange ones, that are my favorite. Before buying them, I specially asked how to care for them, to be sure I give them exactly what they need. I was told I can leave them on the balcony during the day and bring them inside during the night, as it was the beginning of March and was still cold outside during the night. I did exactly that and after a week my gorgeous flower lost all its leaves and flowers as well. I think shocked doesn't even begin to describe how I felt as I've never killed a plant in my life.

The next step was to keep it inside, till the weather warms up a little, but it needed light, so I placed it on the ledge, in front of the window. In a week new leaves appeared and I couldn't be happier. I thought this is it, I saved it, just to see the new leaves dry and fall off. Shock again and at that point I suspected it could be some kind of disease.

Giving up was not an option as I knew these plants have the power to renew themselves on their own, so I found a new place for it and waited to see what happens. As expected, new stems and leaves grew fast, I was checking it regularly to see if those brown spots appear on the leaves again, but didn't.

These two leaves as the only ones that seem to be affected, but we'll see what happens, as the rest are healthy.

While I was taking the photos, was thinking that relationships between humans are not any different. You meet someone, you either find a way to connect, or you don't. Then maybe another time you give the person another chance to know them, to get closer, but there are no guarantees, you become friends. Some flowers love you and your home, some don't and prefer to die on you. Sounds brutal, but that's the truth.

My relationship with this rose has not been rosy, but I'm trying my best to make her feel welcomed and loved. It would be easier, if she could tell me what's wrong, but she can't, so it's my job to figure it out. So far so good I'd say, let's see if I can get some flowers too. That would be absolute success.

Next is repotting my cactus, which is not going to be fun at all as she's going to protest with all her thorns, but I have to do it as she is leaning to one side and besides, she needs a bigger pot and more soil. After the flowers are gone, that's what I'm going to do, and correct her position as well.

Fun fact: I have a folder dedicated to this cactus and as I downloaded the photos today, saw that in 2023, the photos were taken in the 18th of August. I have never paid attention to this, but it looks like she has her own, precise schedule and flowering the same time every year, which is so cool.

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