Longer ago than I like to admit Mom taught me to start new plants from stems of mature plants. She called them Cuttings.
One late winter I started a pot of golden pothos with 4 cuttings from one of Mom’s plants. By autumn the leaves had grown over the edge of the shelf and the plant needed to be re-potted. I started four more pots from the first plant and they soon took over that shelf by the window.
I enjoyed botany and especially spending time with Mom. She wasn’t my mother, but she taught me to be strong, as if she knew the hard times that laid in wait for me – maybe she did. She knew teaching me to start a whole new life from something broken, something that would otherwise die would help me through heartbreak and hard times.
For a long while my perpetually strained economy only afforded me to start new plants from cuttings to green-up my living space. Plants made my place in the world seem less harsh, more lovely.
Sure enough, believing as Mom taught me, that when God closes a door He opens a window kept me going over the years. Many doors slammed shut on me. When I barely had any strength to keep going, God certainly opened windows. Not only so, but all along the way He led me to fill them with pots and boxes of cuttings.
Many years later when FirstBorn brought LoveOfHisLife home to meet me, she gave me a potted kalanchoe. Many months and even more miles afterward, pieces of that plant became another beautiful plant on the other side of the country. And a year or two afterward, I started another plant and then another… The new plants eventually made it back to my sons’ houses.
Recently the sight of kalanchoes growing in pots on my grand daughter’s bedroom window seat, brought a deluge of fond memories.
Granted, GrandGirl’s plants may or may not be from the same plants I carried back and forth across the country so long ago. I love the idea that they could be, so I never asked. Wherever they started I’m certain the rest of this part of God’s story will be great.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1 (HCSB*)
*Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Images courtesy Pixabay
What Next: Behind Roo's Ruse 
Cuttings are a great way to build your Oxygen supply in your house. I always talk to them to let them know how important they are.
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Agreed! I admit I do too. I’m thankful these living with me don’t speak human =D
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Awesome.
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❤
My Mom loves plants and flowers too. We had them all over the house ! Sadly I did not inherit her green thumb! My plants die, just like when we tried having fish!
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❤
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Ah, another plant lover! You’re right, plants have a way of making any environment less harsh and more lovely. And when I can’t get outside because of the weather, the green inside keeps me content.
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My apartment now often feels like a cave, so my only plants are right by the storm door. Still, they make all the difference. I look forward to replacing the car door with lots of windows in the not-too-distant future.
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I am so glad you are successful with cuttings. I’m not, so I admire those who are.
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Duran, take heart, I am not good with all plants. The Coleus a dear friend gave me last year has the tiniest leaves of any other in the world =D. Personally I’m thankful that as spindly as it is, it continues to grow and give me more cuttings. We’ll see how it does come late spring when I can move It outdoors. ❤
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Hahaha! Duran is speech-to-text for Dear Anne 😄
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My coleus cuttings died on a sunny kitchen window sill. I’m going to throw away the sorry roots tomorrow.
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Beautiful words about the connections between generations.
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Thank you Nancy. I’m delighted to hear that connection comes across clearly ❤ Feel the blessings!
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I always did this. It’s a great way to expand a garden.
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Again, I’m not surprised, Jacqui. The most creative people seem to be born with green thumbs. ❤
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When we lived in Florida, my single orchid became multiples that would flower multiple times a year with flowers doubling and tripling what they’d been previously. When we left Florida, I found homes for all my various plants. Orchids thrive in a climate that I do not. But I regularly get reports from the good homes they went to and it makes me smile.
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Why am I not surprised you cultivated one of the hardest plants to grow? The whole time Mother worked for Phoenix Flower Shops customers frequently returned several times with dead orchid plants – growing them in dessert air or air conditioning is tricky. I’ll keep you in the loop for my visit to AZ this year (God willing). Finally getting together with you will be amazing! ❤
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