We moved into our new home from a flat three years ago. One of the key factors that drove us to build an individual house was our love for plants. Within three months, we slowly raised our garden outside.
Slowly, the idea of setting up indoor plants germinated. We watched well-decorated living rooms with thick green plants and potted succulents on websites, and wherever we went, the indoor plants grabbed our attention. Soon, we were on a buying spree visiting one nursery or the other. Even on our vacations, we searched for nurseries, much to the chagrin of our children.
Aglaonemas, monsteras, spider plants, cacti, money plants and anthurium with their matching colourful ceramic pots occupied every nook and corner of our home. The exquisite collection gave us a feeling of living in a huge family. Every day, we looked for the changes in the shape of the leaves, the budding of new twigs and the flowering of a plant.
As days passed, a few plants withered. When the first pink anthurium drooped, we mourned for two days. We browsed the Internet trying to find ways to resuscitate it. Some suggested excessive watering to be the reason for the withering and so, we reduced the frequency of watering. It seemed to work for a day or two, but alas the plant still died. And someone diagnosed that inadequate watering could be the reason, and we watered them more. But nothing seemed to work. Seasoned and experienced friends, who gave a thoughtful look, came up with a flurry of ideas such as excessive sunlight, artificial lighting, aeration, humidity, bugs, soil nutrients, bigger pots, pots with small holes, firm versus loose soil and so on. When the empty pots reminded us about the lost ones, we bought new plants to fill the void (in our hearts too!). This vicious cycle of life and death continued as if we were watching the vicissitudes of universe from a distance.
Plants living in the external environment for billions of years have been brought inside our homes. Since they grow in places with minimal sunlight and water requirements, they have been converted to indoor plants. But to create that artificial environment is no easy job. The plants need to adapt and sometimes when they reach their limits of adaptability, they die. We noticed that many of these indoor plants when kept outdoors, live well. Just like children are forced to follow a certain pattern of education and life irrespective of their varied emotional and intellectual needs, we are trying to cocoon he “indoor” plants in an unfamiliar milieu, away from their natural external environment.
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