Tuesday, February 23, 2021

The "Fig" Plant

     We didn't have a lot of houseplants while I was growing up. The ones we had been gifted died after a few months, except for the Christmas cactus. It didn't require the care that other plants did, and we managed to remember to water it just often enough that it remained alive, It bloomed beautifully every year.
    One day some old friends stopped by to visit. The lady presented Mom with a plant. "It's just a little "fig" plant," she said.
    Mom was thrilled at the prospect to someday have our own figs. For once a houseplant was doted upon. It was watered regularly. We were pleased with how nice it stayed. No blight or sickness was affecting it. We wondered how long it would need to grow before it would start producing figs. We thought it might take years since it certainly grew slowly enough.
    Then one day as Mom was watering it again she looked at it more carefully and discovered it was a fake plant, not a "fig" plant.
    After laughing about it heartily, we sadly threw our precious "fig" plant away. Our community didn't allow artificial flowers or plants, so it had to go.
    We never did try growing our own figs, but seeing fake plants always makes me think about them.

13 comments:

  1. I laughed out loud at this story! I have a similar one. I used to clean our church and sometimes my husband would help me. One day I came upstairs after cleaning the bathrooms downstairs to find water running all over the floor in the lobby. My dear husband had watered all of the artificial trees set around the room! We still laugh about that to this day.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  2. That made me smile along with Betsy comment above. Its good to laugh.

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  3. Oh dear...they meant well at least!
    I don't like artificial plants..a waste of good growing space

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  4. Oh my goodness, what a great story! I'm still smiling. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Thanks for the chuckle... Great memory.

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  6. I worked in a large office complex and one day on the way out after work I noticed that one of the Temporary Secretaries was watering the artificial plants by the elevator. I didn't say a word, just didn't know how to explain to her they were not real.

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  7. Somebody gave our youngest daughter a very nice cactus, which she immediately watered, "because the base is so dry." We pointed out to her that you don't water cactus plants, and especially when they are candles! We had to admit it was very realistic, but still just a candle.

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  8. They can be so realistic it is hard
    to tell they are not real~🌿 Sweet Story 🌿

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  9. Along with Christmas cactus, I can recommend orchids and pothos. Even I have not been able to kill them. Orchids might seem like an odd choice, because they look exotic and fragile, but they're tough as nails. As long as you can put them by a window that gives the right amount of sunlight, they'll do fine - they need very little watering.

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    1. Adding ... I've even had a couple of orchid plants go dormant for a year. I don't know what's going on, but if the leaves are dark-green and healthy-looking, I just leave it alone. Both times, it's rejuvenated itself and started re-blooming.

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    2. Clisby, I have been know to kill snake plant! My sister gave me a cutting of Wandering Jew and I had it dead before I got it home! On the other hand, she and our Eldest Daughter could grow cactus in a swamp. It got to the point that my sister wouldn't even allow me to get a cucumber out of her garden, for fear I'd kill stuff just by walking past!

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  10. That's a great story! Made me chuckle as I struggle with keeping my houseplants alive!

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