It’s the dead of winter, -17 degrees F this morning when I was out and about. Lately, I’ve taken to sketching some of my plants, just to get a moment of green, when everywhere I look outside is snow and ice.
I sketched my succulents the other day. They sit in the sun of my living room and don’t need much attention. I water them when they feel dry, and that’s about it. I liked all of their interesting textures. I also noticed my dog laying on the floor by the couch. She likes to lay in sun spots in the room, much like a sun-worshiper on a beach. So I combined the two sketches and called them “Sun-lovers”.
Yesterday found me sketching the bonsai kit from my son’s bedroom. He and my daughter got kits for Christmas and after looking at the instructions, decided to leave them in their box! Growing bonsai seeds is more labor-intensive than just letting succulents sit in the sun. There are a number of things you have to do, like hydrate the soil disc, make sure the seeds are in the soil correctly, and you are supposed to keep the soil warm so they can germinate. My kids haven’t tried them yet. My daughter is in a college dorm and is competently keeping a small cactus alive. My son has other interests than germinating plants. I am thinking either mom will be growing the bonsai (hey, there’s an idea!) or we should have just bought a full-grown bonsai tree instead!
