Night Watch

I finally remembered one night to photograph one of the prayer plants in its “prayer“ position. From its habit of folding its leaves upward at night came its name.


Lately I’ve noticed that the prayer plant’s news leaves are much larger and have darker markings than the older leaves. At first I couldn’t think of any conditions that were different, then I remembered that when I repotted it I used potting soil fortified with Miracle Gro. I normally opt for “plain” soil but only the fertilized kind was available at the big box store. So, I guess without trying, I’ve proved their claims. ;)

To Flourish

The prayer plant is blooming again. This is the kind of little white flower that I told you about that made the seed pod that dropped the tiny seeds that grew the new baby prayer plant. The flower lasts only about a day so the process is very quick—no wonder I missed it last time. Both plants are blooming; they must be happy.

That reminds me of the old saying that I’ve come to dread, “Bloom where you’re planted.” It’s plain that a gardener didn’t come up with it since plants grow well and bloom in good soil, light and water conditions. While they can overcome difficult circumstances, they typically don’t flourish unless they have what they need. God didn’t come up with it either. Jesus made plain in his “Parable of the Sower” that plants flourish in good soil, using plants as a metaphor for people who flourish spiritually when they understand the “message about the kingdom” and aren’t distracted by “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:1-23 NIV).

Good conditions grow good plants—and people. However, God has a different definition of good than most people and includes persecution for Jesus’ name but it does not include sickness or tragedy since, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8 NIV).

Parade

The light is already changing in the east windows as the white pear blossoms are replaced with spring green leaves. Sunlight still feeds the pentas, Angelonias and prayer plants from another angle though since the maples and oaks haven’t leafed out yet.

Since the air conditioner is finally on, we won’t need the fan any more for awhile so it’s back in its corner but the bougainvillea that surrounded it is still outdoors. The calendar says it’s the first day of spring but it could still get cold—but probably not that cold. More plants may go out soon.

Over the weekend, we saw lots of red-violet redbuds, yellow forsythias, and added to the colorful parade were the yellow-green beginnings of dogwood bracts, purple wisteria and the palest of pink cherry blossoms. A few pink or orange tulips joined in as well. Spring is definitely here! And though I’m sneezing through it, I love it!

Thriving

The days are longer now, the weather warmer and the prayer plants are reaching up lots of new leaves! New growth is happening all over the place--indoors and out.

It’s often said that adversity makes people “grow.” I’ve long doubted that* and I see little evidence of it in the plant world. Plants can overcome great odds and grow anyway but they grow the best in good conditions.

When I look out the window at the beautiful white pear blossoms, I feel almost as though I’m living in a story book. I don’t even notice the smell anymore.


*The Bible does speak of spiritual growth coming from “tribulations” but the context of these is always that of suffering persecution for Jesus’ name sake—not the everyday hassles, not sickness or tragedy.

Distinctive

One of things I’m enjoying about this prayer plant is the unusual way it holds its leaves. In the evening they fold up in a prayer-like position, which is where it gets its name (maybe I’ll remember to photograph it then) but during the day this particular plant opens its leaves into a cascade of sorts, almost like a modern dance pose.


A new leaf has opened with red-violet showing through the green with deep red-violet markings--a richness of color that the others lack. I suppose this plant is the unique, creative one.

Surprising Places

I generally expect new growth to come from the end of a plant’s stem but happily, this prayer plant is sprouting new growth from the base, giving the plant more fullness. It’s also a hopeful sign philosophically in that new growth in life and character can pop up in places you don’t expect. That encourages my heart.

Earlier, as many as eight or ten blue jays congregated on the deciduous tree (mulberry?) beyond the balcony! Amazing! I’m not used to seeing blue jays in flocks; I thought they were all males but I found a neat site:all-birds.com that says both male and female are “blue above with a crest, and a black necklace.” The site also has a place to click to hear the blue jay’s call (very cool), which mimics the hawk’s.

I could surely use some sunshine this gray day but I’ll have to look for it in the Lord’s presence instead of from the sun. Funny, as soon as I wrote that, the sun started showing itself. It is, after all, God’s servant.

Starting Small

A mockingbird came to visit my outdoor garden this morning then joined a flock flying around the small trees in the natural area. I heard again the bird call that sounded like the screeching of a swing as it rides its bar; circumstantial evidence would attach the sound to the mockingbirds but I couldn’t be sure. Are any of you birders? What bird makes that sound?

The prayer plant baby has more leaves and one more has spots! Another has the slightest shadow of the spots to come.

The prayer plant gets its name from its habit of folding its leaves upward at night—like praying hands. I don’t mean to force this comparison but it came to mind naturally as I watered this morning; just as these baby prayer plant leaves will become larger and stronger, prayers to God can start small and as you pray more, they’ll likely get stronger and larger as you stay with it and get to know him. You can start where you are*.

*Simple heart-felt prayers such as, “Help me Jesus!” and “Thank you Jesus!” carry a lot of weight in heaven.

Times 2

Finally! My prayer plant has needed a taller pot to hold its trailing branches a little higher--out of harm’s way, so at last today is the day for it to move to its new pot. “But didn’t you already do that?” Yes and no. Yes, I already potted the other prayer plant in a coordinating pot, the other plant that bloomed, produced seed and grew a baby plant. Hmmm…I guess that means it’s been happy in the new pot. Hopefully, this one will be happy in its new pot too.

I’m rearranging my art studio (again) to function better, so I have to keep it short today. See you Monday—“Lord willing.”

Spots

The baby prayer plant has spots! Animals such as deer, tend to lose their spots as they mature but in some cases, plants gain them as they grow.

I searched the internet for pictures of the “rooster plant” and mostly cockscomb celosia came up. However, when I searched the croton family, I found my plant among them. One site said that in low light the leaves are dark green with yellow spots (like mine) but when they have stronger light, red and yellow predominate. Hmm…the rooster plant looks nice in that window but it seems that more light is needed.


I see a similar trend in my largest croton; since the winter sunlight in the southwest windows has been brief the new leaves are only green with a few yellow spots, contrasting with it’s gorgeous red and yellow spotted and veined fellows. Though the overall aesthetics won’t be as pleasing, it’s time to move it closer to the sunlight, swapping it with, possibly, the Hawaiian Ti plant that aesthetically, is perfectly suited to its window perch though it can get by with less light.

Spots can be a good thing. Plants show their maturity and health with natural markings and Jacob of the Bible gained his fortune in livestock by having the foresight to choose the spotted, dark-colored and speckled sheep and goats as his payment for years of hard work for his father-in-law. And God multiplied them(Genesis 30:26-43).

More New Growth

The baby prayer plant is growing and now has four leaves! I’d like to say that it’s the first prayer plant I’ve grown from seed but the fact is that the seed planted itself—as it was created to do and I only watered it and gave it sunlight.


The bougainvillea has adjusted so well to its indoor spot that not only is it growing lots of new leaves (to replace the ones it dropped) but it’s growing new branches too! According to the Bougainvillea Growers International, they bloom on new growth!

I’m looking forward to today’s much warmer weather but not yet another day of water outage for pipe repairs. So far the water is still on.

Stars & Prayers

The deep pink penta is still, amazingly, in full bloom. The penta’s neighboring prayer plant* has an offspring—a baby prayer plant (incidentally, the Latin word fetus means “offspring”--not blob of tissue).


Surprisingly, the prayer plant bloomed too—it must be happy! The small white flowers turned into seed pods, which produced tiny black seeds. The seed specks fell onto the soil and voila—a plant emerged! I didn’t do a thing except provide sunlight and water. I love spontaneous gifts like that.

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head." Mark 4:26-28 NIV

*As it turns out, I have two pentas and two prayer plants and have arranged them symmetrically with the two Angelonias in between.

Well Enough?

A couple months ago, a neighbor gave me some of her plant multiplications. When I brought them home my goal was to get them in soil or water as quickly as possible. This once-broken lavender bowl seemed to suit the prayer plant well; the plant has even sprouted a baby of its own. It’s been very happy here in its sunny window but today was the day for re-potting. Why mess with a good thing? The leaves overcome the shallow bowl, brushing against the shelf. Plants—and people, do better when given space for deeper roots.



I had recently gotten a good deal on a red-violet pot at the large blue and yellow box store that turned out to be just right for the prayer plant. When I removed the plant from its shallow bowl to repot it, I discovered that the root ball was also shallow. Now, in its new pot, not only can the roots go deep, it can hold its leaves up high and they’re less likely to get damaged.

When pots, such as this one, don’t have holes always put some broken pottery, gravel, etc. at the bottom of the pot (before you put the plant and soil in) for drainage.

After two weeks we finally got some rain last night with more to come today; it had been forecast for every single day this week. And I’m still in revival.