Dying on the Vine
As a child, I remember discovering my dislike of houseplants. My impression formed when visiting others’ homes, where I cringed at the sight of dirty clay pots crammed onto windowsills. Worse than that was the time-yellowed and water-stained layers of newspaper the owners had placed under them to sop up sloppy waterings or catch overflow. When I finally had a home of my own, I don’t know why, I took a stab at keeping one or two plants, until the fatality of my over-watered ca