Just potterin’ around

I took thirty minutes out of watching my almost-walking baby to treat myself to some mud therapy. No, not the Dead Sea kind…

Our veranda has a little row of pots that have a life of their own and do what they like. We have cacti that hop from pot to pot when our backs are turned, propagating like they’re going to be extinct. The orange lilies show up during the monsoons, as do the periwinkles, purple and familiar. The money-plant I brought back from my grandmother’s house in Mangalore two years ago is growing strong and fast, as is the little cadi-patta plant our neighbour gave us.

Today’s potting spree was prompted by a green present from my MIL’s receptionist. Her 5 year old daughter has very green fingers and we’ve recently tasted a pumpkin and brinjal that she grew. In passing, I had asked about flowers and today, we got a sprig of a little plant that promises yellow flowers when in bloom. 

One of the rabid cacti pots was emptied to make place for our new gift – the cacti will go under a tree in front of the house that often attracts litter. Our attempts to turn it into a little garden last year failed miserably as the sun wrenched all signs of life from our stab at guerrilla gardening. We are hoping that the cacti will take on a life of its own (as it tends to do) and convert that dump into a green space without too much effort on our part. Our theory is that is a place is green and looks like it is being looked after, people don’t litter there (what do you think?).

Anyway, back to the gardening. In 30 minutes, I trimmed the money-plant, repotting the cut strands into two pots – one a tiny curd pot, the other a yellow and green speckled vintage pot from Germany belonging to my MIL.

I created a wire trellis for the money plant trying to shape it into a circle.

And the new plant got its own special pot.

I enjoyed myself so much; I had forgotten how calming digging your hands in mud could be. My mum has green fingers and I miss pottering about trying out different things in new containers, having plants around me. Maybe I can start again…

Do you have a balcony garden? What do you grow?