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Wit Love, Kath

~ My love letters about the funny side of life

Wit Love, Kath

Category Archives: Plants

In the garden of life…

17 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Kath Carroll in Gardening, Inspiration, Nature, Plants, Random Thoughts

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garden, gardening, Inspiration, nature, personal growth, plants, plants growing through obstacles

When life puts obstacles in your way,

WitLoveKath - Hole in leaf I

grow through them.

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Tick Magnet

06 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by Kath Carroll in Animals, Celebrity, Gardening, Humor, Nature, Plants, Seasons

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celebrity, gardening, humor, insects, mosquitoes, nature, pest control, puns, ticks

What can I say? Ticks dig me. It’s been this way as long as I can remember. I suppose my story is a bit cliché, but I’ll let you be the judge.

I was discovered at the age of three in a little town called Hollywood. Yes, that Hollywood! Is there any other? California, you say? Huh! But I digress. I was in the yard, romping around the coconut palms and through the croton bushes when I was approached by an agent looking for new blood. I was sucked in by the idea that I had something special, something that set me apart from other people, something—dare I say it?—in the very life source that flowed through my veins.

Before I knew it, the bug had gotten under my skin. I was the host of the town— living large, the meals and drinks always on me. Soon, not only ticks but everyone wanted me. Sure, it was attractive at first; I felt needed, as if I truly had something to offer. Admirers swarmed around me everywhere I went. A buzz of excitement erupted whenever I stepped outside.

But over the years I discovered I couldn’t satisfy everyone. I took to staying indoors, covered up when I went out. Then the whining started. I couldn’t escape its insistent droning in my ears, reminding me always, always that I had to perform, had to give my followers what they wanted—the little parasites. I tried shooing them away, but it didn’t work. They only flew at me with greater force, poking and prodding. And then they started on my children. We couldn’t go to the playground, walk to school or plant a garden like other families. The pests were relentless; they were eating us alive. I even employed a SWAT team, but our protection was only hit-and-miss.

I was drained and had the scars to show it. I decided to quit. I dropped out of sight, and the clingers-on forgot about me. At least, I thought they did. Recently, I felt that old, familiar itch. I returned to my roots, plowing the fertile soil of my comeback and planting seeds I hope will flower and bear fruit. As I’ve toiled I’ve reflected on those long-ago days. Had they really been that bad? Hadn’t the wounds healed?

The answer has come swiftly. I’ve been back in the Lyme light for only a week and already the ticks are in my hair, clutching at my arms and legs, sucking up to me. In the intervening years, though, I’ve learned a few things, and this time I’m DEETermined to dump these ticks before they burrow too deep.

 

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Remember “Flower Power?” Me too. Groovy, man!

03 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by Kath Carroll in Animals, Art, Gardening, Inspiration, Pets, Plants, Shopping

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cactus, flowers, gardening, humor, orchids, plants, rescue animals, rescue pets, shelter animals, shelter pets, terrarium

We’ve all seen them—those sad, dejected puppy and kitty eyes gazing out at us from our TVs or computer screens begging us to care. Even the forlorn bunnies and ferrets can melt the iciest of hearts. Well…maybe not the ferrets. And when we hear of a shelter animal being adopted into a loving family after a hard knock life, we get a warm, fuzzy feeling and even think about adopting one ourselves.

In that same spirit, today I’d like you to consider another group of forgotten creatures—rescue plants. You’ve no doubt seen them at nurseries and other stores and thought, “Yikes!”: the droopy tomato plants left over after the initial rush of gardeners; the bruised and blighted roses; the trailing ivies with brown, curling leaves tangled like kite strings; the hard-bitten cactus with nothing left to lose that pricks you as you walk by. These poor souls deserve better than to be relegated to the compost pile. They need our help.

WitLoveKath - Rescue Plants - slogan bloom

A rose in any condition still smells as sweet?

A rose still smells as sweet?

That’s why I’ve made it my mission to embrace as many rescue plants as I can. I believe that given enough light, loam, and love, any plant, however scraggly, can be restored to its original majesty and bring delight to any home.

WitLoveKath - Rescue Plants - slogan room

I’ve found most of my rescues at Stop & Shop, waiting with hopeful expectation right inside the entrance. Since I hate to see any living creature caged up, I’ve been instinctively drawn to the sad spectacle of shriveled leaves clinging to the cruel bars of a shopping cart, and once I’ve become emotionally attached, how can I abandon them?

These roses deserve to live in the sun--not in a metal cage.

These roses deserve to live in the sun–not under fluorescent lights and behind bars.

I load them into the child seat of my cart, and they become my companions as I wait at the deli, pick up more macaroni and cheese (do people ever outgrow this delicacy?), hoof it to the far, far aisles for bread and milk, and trudge back to the front of the store for the garlic, cereal, honey, carrots…that I forgot the first time around (seriously, when did the grocery list become some kind of Mensa quiz?). By the time I finally exit the checkout lane and return to my car, these little guys have become my new best friends.

WitLoveKath - Rescue Plants - slogan wilt

I’m proud to introduce a few of my new family members:

These were a few of my first rescues. They brightened our kitchen for several months, and their once bedraggled leaves are now shiny and strong.

These were some of my first rescues. They brightened our kitchen for several months…

...now their once bedraggled leaves are shiny and strong.

…now their once bedraggled leaves are shiny and strong.

These orchids now sit on my desk basking in the glow of my lamp. They've acquired new leaves, and one has an ambitious little root that, curious, pokes its head over the rim of the pot. Every day it grows a little longer, a little braver.

These orchids had few leaves and dying blooms….

...Now they sit on my desk, basking in the glow of my lamp. They've acquired new leaves, and one has an ambitious little root that, curious, pokes its head over the rim of the pot. Every day it grows a little longer, a little braver.

…Now they accompany me at my desk, basking in the glow of my lamp. They’ve acquired new leaves, and one has an ambitious little root that, curious, pokes its head over the rim of the pot. Every day it grows a little longer, a little braver.

New buds on a rescue orchid prove that beauty sprouts when love is given.

New buds on a rescue orchid prove that beauty sprouts when love is given.

This is Buddy. When he was discovered at Stop & Shop last fall, he was pale and had raw patches...

This is Buddy. When I discovered him at Stop & Shop last fall, he was pale and had raw patches…

...but a tiny shoot appeared...

…but a tiny shoot appeared…

...and it grew....

…and it grew….

...and now look!

…and now look!

Buddy is one of the lucky ones. Won’t you join me to ensure no plant ever goes unloved again? Please open your heart and your window box, garden, desk, window sill, plant stand, or terrarium to a rescue plant. Remember:

WitLoveKath - Rescue Plants - slogan weeds

 

 

 

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