Sidebar: Plant Rescue

When my school site closed because of the pandemic, we had to quickly adapt. I was not allowed daily access to my site, and I realized that there were some members of my library that would rapidly become casualties to the pandemic if not cared for: the plants. We had five pots of plants in the fiction room, and several more in our library office. Many of the plants have been at the library longer than I have, so I am understandably protective of them. Some of them have names; three of the pots from the fiction room contain the same kind of plant, so three years ago they earned the name Alvin, Simon, and Theodore (brownie points for recognizing the reference). Some of the plants have been added since I joined the library staff there. An old student of mine gave me a small succulent when she graduated in 2018. We rescued an orchid from the dumpster at the end of a school year when a teacher (I assume) threw it out after the blossoms faded. Two pots were given to us by a colleague who retired and didn't have a place for them at home. I couldn't let these plants die.

The solution? My home became a plant rescue. All of the fiction room plants and all of the plants in the office that require fairly frequent attention came home with me. Some of them have done a lot better with me at home than they ever did in the library. The orchid we rescued three years ago? She currently has eleven(!) blossoms on a single branch with number twelve about to open up. She has thoroughly settled into her spot on my bedroom window sill. The succulent has grown at least a third bigger than he was when he came home with me. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore all got a much-needed pruning and are coming back even bushier than they were; they seem to really like sitting on top of the cabinet in my front room.

And now, the madness is spreading. I'm compelled to rescue other plants in need. Our run to the nursery on Thursday resulted in the rescue of orchid number two, seen in the picture for this post. I didn't even think twice before claiming him from the counter at the register. All I saw was the pink post-it saying "FREE" before my hands seemed to move on their own and protectively clutch his pot. He seemed in really good health, so Mom and I can't figure out why someone was trying to get rid of him, unless they couldn't sell him without blossoms. He is currently sharing the shelf in my bedroom with one of the library plants. Scooter and I have named him Ricardo Shillyshally (more brownie points for this reference). I can't wait to see what color his blossoms will be, but it may be quite awhile before the next buds start to appear. If you have any guesses, you can leave a comment.

Place your bets for my next rescue plant...