Love Letters to My Plants

Last year, I told you about Valentine’s Day with sweetness and love in an article about vanilla. This year, to celebrate February 14, I’ve chosen to share with you some love letters (and humor!) of my own. I hope you’ll enjoy them!

Looking for a link to gardening? But… who do you think I’m addressing my love letters to?

To My First Love

As soon as I knew you existed, I wanted you. You were my first love, my first real, uncontrollable desire. The beginning of a long list of impulse plant purchases. The beginning of a plant craze.

I love everything about you:

Your foliage, which reminds me of my hair in the morning.

Your trunk, whose shape reminds me of the best bottles.

Your cute little sprout… which my boyfriend pulled out this winter. Don’t worry, I’ve repotted it, named it Orteil, and it will be loved, just like you.

You know, even amputated, you’re still the most beautiful, the biggest and the most satisfying of my successes. I love you as I did on the first day, and even if in summer I have to share your heart with the earwigs, I know it’s for your own good.

My ponytail palm, my elephant’s foot, my beautiful carnea, Tantor,

I love you.

Poem for My Favorite Mystery

One day, you’ll be fat and full; one day, I’ll stop separating you to give your babies away.

But now you’re blooming again, and I can’t help sharing your beauty.

I don’t know your name, I never knew it, and I’ve never seen another one like you.

If at first I found you ordinary, everything changed when you perfumed our winter.

Your fragrance is the only one I want to breathe,

Vanilla, sugar and sweetness: I can’t get enough.

It’s such a shame, my beautiful orchid,

That you’re banal the rest of the year!

You, the Autumn of My Life

A season of calm, storms and, above all, color, autumn is my favorite time of year. You embody it so well: quiet for a long time, then dramatic when the water runs out, but always radiant in yellow and orange. You warm my heart like a cup of coffee, breakfast in bed, a warm blanket.

Your soft fur doesn’t put me off, and every leaf wears it with pride. May you always bring me calm and beauty, and for my part, I’ll make sure your hairy, temperamental frame stays dry, but the air you breathe is as moist as you like.

My autumn babygonia, you are the sunshine of my winters.

I was inspired to write these poems, wasn’t I? “But where does she get all this?” you might ask. Oh, it’s simple, I just made a list of what I want on Valentine’s Day: a good bottle, flowers, sweet treats, cocooning… and lots of love! (The more observant will notice that I’ve left out the hair!)

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!