Susan, Ingrid, Blanche, and Roxanne

Those are the names of my four windowsill plants, four lovely ladies that I have nourished and watched flourish through the long winter and my year here in Berlin. In about five weeks, I'll have to leave them. Sadly, I don't think they can be taken with me back to California and I believe the nice people at Customs frown on the smuggling of plants into the country. Susan is by far the most delicate; she has blossomed three times in my life with her, she was blossoming when I purchased her and I have managed to capture both her first and second blooms. The second bloom has been slowly unfolding this week. Despite my fears that Susan wouldn't make it, she continues to bloom and surprise me.

I have grown quite attached to my plants, I've given them names and tend to introduce people to my ladies when people come to my apartment to visit. I water them regularly and pay close attention to their health. Although I have always loved gardening, this is really the first time that I have ever had my own plants to tend to, not just a never ending flowerbed to weed, one whose plants I did not choose and was not attached to. I know it'll be hard to leave them when I go. With this knowledge, I have begun looking for adoptive parents. Hopefully I can find some one to love them when I leave! It is not just my plants that I have grown attached to in Berlin, I have become attached to many other facets of my life here. But I miss the California sun. Maybe I can get some plants of my own in Berkeley, too.