little bitty girl

Maybe it's the Asian "don't ask, don't tell" thing but no one ever talks about issues as much as they really should. It's also a generational thing, I think because we definitely talk more now about things than we used to. But there is something that we still don't really talk about in my family. My mother is a hard core addict and I hate to say it but we tend to indulge her with her addiction. I think it's because it's much easier to keep her happy than to hear her cry about things.

My mum is a plant addict. She lives in one of those townhouses where they only allot you those gardens that really constitutes a vegetable garden. We used to have a really large garden growing up where she could pretty much go totally crazy. We had her orchid garden on one side, the orchard in the back, the vegetable garden near the kitchen and her rose garden near the front.

Well, now she has one little plot in the front and a larger one in the back. She has an abnormally green thumb and once she figured out the whole seasonal planting thing, she's been pretty much working on her "jungle" all the time. The restraint of space has not hampered her willingness to grow anything everywhere. There are hanging baskets, potted plants and every single possible space is covered. She has even taken over less garden-friendly neighbour's spaces.

Don't get me wrong, her garden never looks ridiculous but it's just really funny how when we first moved to that neighbourhood, hardly anyone had any flowers growing and then my mum started her little revolution. Now, whenever her garden is in full bloom, the neighbours usually scurry around to make their gardens more decent. Which, I think is a good thing.

Just the other day when we went antiquing, she was more fascinated by some seedlings than the actual antiques. I had asked Stefan to take the scenic route home but my mum had fallen asleep. We had previously passed a couple of nurseries on the way to the flea market and she just looked like a little kid who had just been told she would not be given her most coveted toy whenever we passed one and wouldn't stop. We managed to find one that was still open while she was still sleeping. You should have seen her, she was so happy, she was giggling. Then they were having a buy 2, get 2 free sale. It was all over then. We barely had enough space in the car to fit her in after!!

Stefan and I also bought some plants for our sad little window boxes that my mum will have to replant next week. We asked her to baby sit our plants and hopefully I won't find them in her garden when I return. She was trying to show us some new seedlings that she had grown in her back yard when she asked whether we had seen her back-back garden. The woman had planted the most beautiful lilies behind the fence. Yes, the area that legally does not belong to anyone but is public property. The area where no one really sees. The woman planted a whole other garden.

Someone needs to buy the woman more backyard real estate. Either that, or I should send her to my friend Murat's house in Vancouver as he has a big garden but no real plants. Ai ya.