A Jungle For My Birthday
In the 90s, I lived in an old house off 45th Street in Austin. It had a window unit air conditioner, three bedrooms, hardwood floors, and all the creaks and quirks you’d expect. I shared it with two of my best friends from sixth grade, three big dogs we’d adopted from the shelter, a cranky old weiner-dog, and a cat named Thomas, who one day decided that we were his people and he’d like to live in our front porch.
For my 21st birthday, I asked for plants. I’d been noticing these jungle-vibe, tropical beauties everywhere — flowering bromeliads, birds of paradise, giant monsteras and orchids — and I wanted them all. Without realizing it, I’d asked everyone -my parents, my roommates, my boyfriend, and my best friend from freshman-year for plants. So, when my birthday came, you’ll never guess what I got.
My boyfriend gave me a bromeliad, the kind with the silver-green leaves and a pointy pink flower, in a beautiful terracotta pot. I loved it and put it in my room. He said his mom had something for me too, and he’d bring it by later. After that, my roommates gave me plants, a two-foot Monstera and a tree-like plant called a Mass Cane. My curly-haired best friend appeared at my front door around noon, grinning and holding a leafy-green gift. I hugged her and thanked her as we placed it near the window in my bedroom along with the others.
By the time my parents showed up that evening, my room was getting a little tight. I put on a blue sundress, ready for dinner, and opened the door to see them standing there with—you guessed it—another plant. This time my face went blank.
“What’s wrong?” my mom asked.
“Oh, nothing,” I said, and led her into my room, where five tropical plants stood tall. She laughed. “Well, you asked for plants.”
Later, while we were sipping wine on the couch with my parents, my boyfriend pulled up in his little red Honda Civic—what my dad always called his tennis shoe car—and stepped out with one last plant, a bonsai from his mom. I took it, set it down, and asked, “Can we please go eat now?” After dinner, you’ll never believe what was waiting at my front door. A rubber tree ficus, with a red ribbon tied around the pot, a gift from my best friend’s mom.
The next morning, I woke up in my very own indoor jungle, transformed by leaves, trees, flowers, and I felt peaceful and energiezed. No wonder I had asked for plants; they made everything better. Eventually, I spread them around the house so everyone could enjoy them, and so I could move around without tripping over branches.
That year, my friends and I loved to go to a vegetarian restaurant in San Marcos called Rivendell’s. With its adobe walls, big thriving plants, and molasis-slow service long before “slow living” was a phrase, it was a great place to chill. It was run by a crazy plant lady and her son, and stepping inside always felt like being invited into her world. I remember sitting there and thinking, someday I’ll be a crazy plant lady too. Maybe I already was one.
These days, I see the phrase “indoor jungle” everywhere, and it always takes me back to that birthday. When life is busy and stressful, don’t you want to come home to a little green sanctuary?
My birthday is coming up again, I’m a Virgo. If you’re wondering what to get me…send plants. Your mom can send one too.
