I made a new friend last week. There I was, in tesco, picking up a prescription from the pharmacy. I didn't even have my proper purse with me. I ended up killing time in the largely deserting clothing section, while I waited for them to get the prescription ready. I say largely deserted, because there was one other shopper between the racks. He had his significant female on a video call, and was holding up fairly standard looking tshirts to his chest, being met with various degrees of outrage. "Put that down RIGHT NOW". "You aren't wearing that, not with me." "I mean, its not as bad as the others". Then he made a real mistake. "You're not getting jeans from tesco, i'm not having it". Quite the debate ensued before he went back to shirts. A couple of shoppers paused to watch, and he was really playing it up for the tiny crowd. Eventually I lost interest and wandered off. It was a good 10 minutes before I meandered back that way, and he was still at it, only now, he was looking at women's jeans, apparently having compromised that the ladies wear was better quality than the men's. News to me. There were only two older ladies watching his antics then, but he was loving it, throwing them winks, making suggestions he knew wouldn't go down well.
Finally the pharmacist caught my eye, and I could stop hanging around. I was making my way out of the store, having been determined not to look at anything - a choice made easier by not bringing my proper purse, when I saw it.
Soft, shocking coral.
A kalanchoe.
The most captivating color, perched on a ledge near the check outs, a bit sad looking, with a large yellow marked down price sticker on it's plastic wrap.
Some temptations are just too great to resist.
I had to go over and have a look.
Just one, marked down to 38p. 38p! That wouldn't even buy bread! But I didn't have my proper purse. I used to keep money in my phone and stopped a while ago because it was warping the case, but for some reason, I checked. And damn, there was a fiver in there! Must've been there for months. Well that was it, she was coming home with me! I didn't really have much space for any more plants (she says, glancing round at the plants perched in every available spot) but I couldn't leave her there. She isn't bird safe, which is a big thing for plants in the house, so she can't go just anywhere, she needs a spot the birds don't have access to. Thankfully, I found one.
You see, live plants at supermarkets come with a guarantee to live for however many days, so there is a date on each one that it must be sold by in order for them to say that. Sounds great, means you'll never get a plant that dies in a few days, or if you do, you can just bring it back. There is a downside, in that they won't sell the plants past that set date. Even though there is a good chance the plants will live plenty longer, the supermarkets throw them in the bin regardless of the condition it's in. I like to think of them taking over the dumps those bins are emptied in.
This lovely lady didn't come with the pot she is shown in, that was one I got from another supermarket mark down special that hadn't been able to cope with the weeks unwatered waiting in the hopes of being purchased. It had pushed out a few last flowers, and shriveled up, the roots had just taken too much damage from getting so dry and being knocked about on the shelf. But silver lining, the pot was a perfect fit for my new little friend. I am just captivated by the strength of the coraly pink tipped in such soft pastel yellow! She has been making me smile every day since she moved in. It's amazing how uplifting having a beautiful flower in the house can be.
To top all that off, when I picked her up, she was hiding two more friends! Both in a more pinky pink, which lack her amazing beauty, but still, I couldn't abandon for the dumpster. One of them has gone off to live with my nana and brighten up her flat, and the other is waiting to go on a journey to it's new home with one of my friends. These are pretty in their own right, but do a wonderful job of demonstrating how out of the ordinary the delicate colors of my new friend seem by comparison. This plant is notoriously difficult to get to flower again at home, but i've managed it with one before. Sheer luck, but now I have real motivation to get this one flowering again and again!
This is an entry to the Amazing Nature Contest held by 