African Violets On The Windowsill
My grandmother always had African violets on the windowsill of her kitchen. It's one of my earliest memories of her.
Even as a little girl, I wanted to grow flowers. She'd patiently cut a leaf or two from one of her violets and send it home with me for instructions on how to grow a new plant from that leaf.
Much like the carnival goldfish I brought home, I could never get those African violets to live very long. But every time I visited her and asked for a leaf, she'd say, “Sure, honey” and cut me another to try again.
They grew roots, but they never thrived once I planted them in soil. I don't think any of them lived more than a few weeks.
Growing plants is like that. You're sure to kill a lot of them before you figure it out.
My grandmother passed away this spring. She was 92. She had a long life, but I still miss her.
In June, I was at a garden center and I saw a display of African violets. All my memories came rushing back, and I impulsively decided to buy one. I hadn’t tried growing them for decades, but I had to have one.
I spent 20 minutes looking them over, sorting through the many colors and looking for the healthiest and most beautiful one.
Finally, I knew which one I wanted. I carried it home and put it on the windowsill above my kitchen sink.
It reminded me of Grandma every day.
But before long, maybe a few weeks, it started to look sick. It stopped blooming. Leaves started dying and falling off.
Oh no.
I wondered if this one would die, too.
Suddenly, I had a little thought in the back of my mind:
Try watering from the bottom.
So that’s what I did. From then on, I only put water in the saucer below and let it soak up from the bottom.
A few days later, the violet didn't look quite so sick anymore.
The heavy feeling of dread I felt every time I saw the little violet started to go fade. The little plant started to perk up.
Now it's thriving, and it's lush and full again. It even has new flowers popping up above the velvety leaves.
I'm not sure where I heard that you should only water violets from the bottom. It's been many years, and I could have picked it up anywhere.
But I'm choosing to believe it came from my grandmother, when I was a little girl trying to grow a new African violet from one leaf.