The Plant Lady

32 years ago, I met my friend Lee. We were freshman in college and soon became good friends and housemates and vegetarians and vegans together also. She now owns a beautiful farm in the Shenandoah Valley. Every year in early April, she comes to the Poplar Grove Herb and Garden festival in Wilmington to sell her plants. Poplar Grove is an old beautiful plantation near me where they have festivals throughout there year. There are food trucks and art vendors and even live bluegrass music played by a cute little family band! They even have fairy hair! Who doesn’t love fairy hair? Except me because my hair is falling out and probably all the strands with the fairy hair would be out in an hour if I ever tried it. It’s still pretty magical to look at people with sparkly hair.

The location is charming and I love all their festivals, but I love this one most of all. It’s not just because my friend Lee is there selling her cute little plants. It’s because for two days every year, I am THE PLANT LADY. I could be that woman who owns a farm and grows her plants and travels to cute little festivals selling them. I could feed my family in addition to hundreds of others, with vegetables and fruits that I grow with my own hands! Little plants I water every day, talk to every day, and encourage their growth until they’re taller than me! That really could be me.

I could sell everything I own and buy a plot of land and start a super successful farm. I only think this way for two days of the year. These are my favorite days of the whole year. I put on my Radical Roots t shirt, (that’s the name of Lee’s farm) and for two days, I stand out there and help her sell her plants. I greet people with a big smile on my face and I ask if they have any questions. If they ask where the lemon balm is or if we have German Johnson tomatoes, I can answer that. It’s so satisfying, and I feel like such a success when I get a question like that right. I sure fooled them! They actually think I work here. They actually think I’m part of this farm business. I must look like a real plant lady.

But if they ask any other more complicated questions, I very politely say, “let me get my friend Lee.” I bring her over and I stand about a foot away restocking plants, but really, I’m eavesdropping. I can’t believe how much knowledge Lee has about plants and how to care for them and what they need. How does she know all that?

People say they come back every year, they look for her every year, and they talk about what a great labor of love this must be. All these conversations warm my heart, and I feel so proud. Of Lee, of course, but also of myself because remember, for two days, I am the plant lady. This is me; this is my life. I grow these amazing fruits and vegetables, and I feed my family from them. “I’m just going to pop in the backyard and grab some food for our dinner,” I would say to my family as I walk out the back door with kitchen shears and a little wicker basket on my arm. (probably with some gingham liner in the basket). I got the wicker basket thing from the people who come to the festival with their own wicker baskets to put plants in! Isn’t that cute? They carry it on their arm and gingerly place pretty plants in it. A lot of them even bring wagons because when you’re buying Lee’s plants, you are going to need a wagon to take them home in. Back to my imagination, though. My plants would be so plentiful. I would put plates in front of my family filled with peas, green beans, and peppers. We wouldn’t even need any meat or starch, just vegetables grown by mom. I will have to put vegetables on my neighborhood Facebook page, giving them away for free because I just have too much to feed my family. This is what an amazing plant lady I am in my imagination, for these two days of the year only.

I love the sunshine, the fresh air, and I love looking at all the beautiful plants. I love watching all the people come and buy plants. In my mind, I see each one of them going home and tenderly planting their plants and getting joy every moment watching them grow. Just like me.

At the end of every festival, Lee gives me plants. Every year, I’m so inspired by my two days as a plant lady that I have such high hopes that this time, I’m going to keep these plants alive. This time will be different. But it never is. I buy big pots and organic soil, just like Lee advised me to. I plant these beautiful plants in these big pots and every morning, I water them, I talk to them, I sing to them, I beg them, and nothing. (Well, that’s not true. Two years ago, I had a very successful basil plant from Lee, but I can’t feed my family just basil for every meal. Can I?!?)

I just don’t understand it! I do everything right! I even have the right attitude which is 50% of being successful at anything you try. Still, I don’t think plants like me. Except for those two days a year of course. All those little plants at the festival love me! I’ve completely fooled them also. When I get them home and they’re like, “What? You are THAT Brita! We’ve heard about you from the Plantbook! We are doomed!” Maybe that’s it! Maybe it’s because I have a bad reputation with plants. Maybe I’ll change my name and trick them all.

My sweet friend Lee is so encouraging and understanding every year. She gives me new plants and believes in me. You would think after 10 years of killing her beautiful plants she would not trust me with them anymore. You would think she would refuse to give them to me or even lie to me and say she is not coming to Poplar Grove this year just to save her plants’ lives! I think before she hands one over to me, she kisses it gently and whispers, “I am so sorry.”

But this year is going to be different. The plant festival was last weekend, and I pretty much fooled all of Wilmington (and all the plants) into thinking I’m a plant lady. I also came home with more plants than I ever have before! But this year I have my own house, and I can plant all the beautiful plants in the ground. The last couple of years I was renting so I planted them in pots. I’m sure that’s why I failed. (I know that there are plenty of people who successfully grow plants in pots. I heard them all at Poplar Grove saying things like, “I have this big pot on my balcony…. Blah blah blah.” Just for today though we will pretend that they’re all lying about successfully growing plants in pots. All lying! Every single one of them)

Yesterday, my brother and I planted the garden. (The dog helped) I named each little plant and welcomed it personally as I packed organic dirt around it. I explained how we were going to be best friends and not to believe everything they read on Plantbook.

The dog helping……

I walked out this morning full of hope. “Day one and all my plants are thriving,” I thought to myself. Then the dog walked out behind me and went pee on my lettuce.

I think I need a fence.

My brother and I proud of our perfect garden.