Spring is in the air

Who likes change? Certainly not my dracaena plant. From spring to summer, it enjoys its prime location on the front porch and sees the sky smiling in its different hues, the sun radiating warmth, the people walking on the sidewalk and the kids riding their bikes. Like the migratory birds’ annual flight to warm lands, the dracaena knows that soon it will be relocation time when the first frost arrives in Toronto with a chilly grin, usually around mid-November. From the freedom and frolic of the outdoors, I will painstakingly move the dracaena and all potted plants to the constant warm and quiet environment of the living room.

Tending to my plants every morning is my daily ritual and an essential and joyful start of my day. Each morning, I don my gardening gloves and fill water in the watering can and greet my plants by visiting them in the porch for half the year and indoors for the remaining half of the year. Some may need water or gentle removal of dead leaves or sometimes a bit of fertilizer for nourishment. While all the potted plants I have, give me immense joy, the dracaena holds a special place in my heart as it speaks to me with the graceful movements of its long, slender, shamrock green, arced leaves.

When I bring the pots inside in November, I feel the dracaena express its sadness by slowing down its growth. It takes a few weeks for it to get acclimatized to the indoors. As the leaves grow taller and longer, the dracaena yearns for the outdoors and leans towards the window that brings in the light and a view of the outdoors. While I get to enjoy the beauty of my plants all day when they are indoors, I am also cognizant of what the plants desire. I wish I could tell them that if I leave them outside in winter, they will not survive. Soon spring will be here, and I will take the dracaena and the other potted plants out. The chirping of the birds, the whisper of the gentle breeze and other sounds of nature will bring them joy and a sense of belonging. Spring is in the air.