Wow, a spike in stats!

Insole Court, Cardiff

My at-the-brink-of-extinction blog experienced a huge spike in stats tonight. By huge I mean- 38 views. Laughable, right? Well for me, it’s not just 38 views, it’s Thirtyyyy Eighttttt VIEWS. Because I haven’t written in ages and I for sure haven’t posted anything about it in a long…. long time. And this is a huge number even when I share because at most it gets 3-5views. One of whom is my loving husband.

I don’t generally care about who reads my blog, because I mostly write it for myself. To get everything out of my system. To commemorate things to come back to. But am sure as hell going to care, if some random stranger is reading my blog at the dead of the night. It’s so freaking awesome! Thank you whoever you are. Your interest today, in my words has made me realise how long I have been away. How much I owe to readers who still enjoy long-form writing.

After the heat spell, we are finally having some wonderful weather here in the UK. I was smirking at Met Office today morning when they said Cardiff may experience thunderstorms in the afternoon. I was not expecting anything. But for a change, it did rain with lightning and thunder around 7pm tonight. Maybe as a celebratory gesture for Truss, who knows! Whatever the reason, I did enjoy it. According to a piece on Wales Online, it was the loudest thunder they have ever heard. I wish they had a ‘rolling-my-eye’ reaction on FB!

Speaking of Facebook, the FB groups here are pretty common and active. I am a part of many local community groups. They are a great way to make new friends and connections, and also to keep abreast with local updates. There is a Cardiff Plant group where all the plant enthusiast comes together to sell or swap plant cuttings, give plant-related advice, or share excitement over a steal deal or stunning variegation on a leaf.

Some people have enviable knowledge of botany. I went to a community garden last week and came across a mint like perennial. It was growing all over the place. I was sure it was mint until I smelt it. It had an orangy or rather fruity smell. I was intrigued by it but forgot to take a picture. After I came home, I posted about my experience on the plant group and asked if someone knew what it could be. Prompt came a reply that it could be a lemon balm. I googled and BAAM, absolutely correct. It was lemon balm and looked like mint because they belong to the same family.

Now I am keeping my eyes peeled on that group to see if someone is selling a lemon balm cutting. I want my home to smell like that!

Pumpkins

After successfully killing half my plant collection last winter, I refrained from buying any new ones this year. Then two months ago, I caved in and acquired (read splurge!) 11 philodendrons. Currently, I am obsessed with them, and being part of a ‘Philo Enthusiast’ group on Facebook is making matter worse. I am in awe of all the variety of philodendrons that exists in the world. A certain Japanese Philo costs around £2000. I wonder if I will ever have that sort of money to spend on a plant.

I cannot believe that I started this journey more than a year ago. It all started with two plants that Hasan brought for me from Bristol. I would be forever indebted to him for introducing me to this art form. I am still learning and there’s a long way to go. But whenever someone comes to our place and admires my plants, I feel like a proud mother! The satisfaction that I feel is unmatchable.

I am yet to figure out what kind of gardener I am- a dedicated one or a neglectful one. Because I tend to fluctuate between ‘I don’t have time to water’ and ‘let’s spend the entire day repotting and nourishing the soil’. There have been some improvements though. For instance, I got better with succulents and finally learned how to ignore them and keep them happy. I have also managed to keep my Ficus alive for more than a year. But my relationship with more dramatic ones has been a little stagnant. I find calatheas absolutely scary and pretty sure they are the reincarnation of my previous life’s enemy. “Enemies” if you add peperomias and syngoniums to the list. And that’s how it is with gardening and life, some things work out and some don’t.

Recently, I fell in love with the Anthurium Jungle King. Generally, I do not fancy anthuriums much. But, this one was love at first sight. It has gorgeous green foliage. I am still kicking myself for not buying it. Truth be told, at the moment, I am running out of space at home. I want a bigger house to fill it with books and plants. Because I read somewhere that if you are surrounded by books and a garden, then you have got everything you would ever need. I don’t know who said it, but they are not wrong.

Tomaatohs.

I am so inspired by people who grow their own vegetables, herbs, and fruits. Especially now, when every economy in the world is fast rolling towards inflation and impending doom. Whoever said “money doesn’t grow on trees” clearly had no vision. Whenever I see people going off-grid, living closer to nature, producing their own food, keeping chickens as pets, and living a sustainable lifestyle, it feels like my dream. But if we ever try to do that, I know exactly how it’s going to end. First, none of us would wake up with the sun to feed the chickens. Second, we would starve to death because looking after produce is extreme hard work, and we know nothing about it.

So for now, I am content with whatever little gardening skills I have.

Cheers!