A simple one (for me). My grandmother always had about half a dozen of old (if not species) violets blooming in the kitchen window. I tried (very unsuccessfully) to grow them. I never lived in a house where I had the right light (or the right temperatures)...usually winters were too cold.

But as one gets older (and stays home all the time), those problems rectified themselves and my violets usually look better than my grandmothers ever did.

I've been a plant collector all my life, and streps actually enjoyed the cooler temps before I could handle AVs.

Thanks dbarron!!!! Nice story! Of all the plants my grandma had she didn't have a violet of any kind. This is from the 50's on forward.

I remember geranium, philodendron, that type of thing, She had a little "sunroom thru an archway from her bedroom. Actually a very small room with a couch that folded out to a bed by lifting the seat all the way up and letting it down again, viola a bed! (for runner of the futon????)

Anyway, she always buried her vegetable stuff in the garden, put a small board over it with a rock to mark the spot so she knew how far over to bury the next batch. By the time she may need a potful of dirt for a plant she knew right where the first (and most composted) spot was, and this what she used as dirt for potting her plants! Nice rich compost!!!!

No MiracleGro then and no worries about bugs!!! haha! Rosie

Hi All, my story is simpler. My mother's aunt had some african violets, but I do not think I should much interest in them. She, however, grew a larger flower garden, with roses, carnations and other flowers. I remember that one time she acquired a seedling of a cherry tree, and planted it in her garden. She also planted a small vegetable garden. I think some of it was for my sister and me. We would pick the cherry tomatoes for a snack.

I once in my late teens went to the Exhibition in Toronto. It is an annual fair that runs about two weeks and ends with Labour Day. I bought an african violet. I remember that it multiplied and I ended up with two plants. They grew beautifully. We lived in an apartment and there was no garden. My mother had some philodendrons, etc.

Once I got married, the african violets came to live with me and DH. Then the kids came and I lost interest. I have, however, rekindled it, as I am not doing anything else expressive right now. My younger daughter says that they should all go away. I am afraid that when I cannot take care of them, they will all die. I am now taking care of them and enjoying them.

That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Yolanda

Thanks Yolanda! Interesting!!!! Do you know a philodendron is one thing I CANNOT grow??? Go figure.......Rosie

Rosie! Why is philodendron your bug-a-boo plant?

Sans,,,,I really don't know. Plain, green philodendron. Can't root it, can't grow it particularly well. I don't stuff it in a dark corner, I don't cook it in bright sunshine, can't root the darn things in plain water, and it rots trying to root it in soil. Never has good growth if I start with a small potful from the store. Goes downhill from there. That's ok,,,,,I have a milllion and a half other plants that like me!!! Rosie

My story is sort of long. Sorry. When I was a teenager, we had an elderly neighbor across the street who grew African violets. She gave my mom one, which I'm sure was a species thinking back because of its gangly leaves and flowers. My mom didn't know how to take care of it, so she just stuck it in the kitchen window and it grew happily, even with her neglect. One day, she was doing a kitchen deep clean and had put it into the LR for safe keeping, but the cat knocked it off and destroyed it. The lady across the street helped her try to save it, even tried to root some leaves, but it couldn't be saved.

When we moved to another town, I bought her a pink $1 AV for her birthday, and again, she stuck it in the kitchen window, hardly ever watered it, and it didn't do too well, so she stuck a little table under the DR window and put it there, and it bloomed and bloomed. She had never repotted it from that same plastic 4" pot it was in & never fertilized it.

I always loved house plants, but never could keep AVs alive, until I discovered an out-of-the-way nursery that had the Optimara and other minis for $1 each. I bought several, got some cute little ceramic pots for them, stuck them in my LR window, just sort of ignored them, and they grew and bloomed and were perfectly happy. When I moved, they all died (AVs seem to not like being moved), so I got more. When the internet happened, I joined a Yahoo group and was sent dozens of mini leaves and plants, which I rooted and which grew happily in my LR window for many years, until my AC went out and I had to open the windows. Some fungus blew in and killed them all, and I was so devastated, I never grew another AV -- until now. I found what looked like a pretty healthy markdown plant for $1 at Lowe's, brought it home, and found out it was root rooted beyond saving, but I did save it by cutting off the stem and most of the bottom leaves, putting rooting hormone on it and sticking it under a qt size mason jar. It's finally starting to grow, and I think I'm going to order some minis soon.

Dirtygardener, I am glad you are enjoying the hobby. Go ahead and order some minis. Personally, minis do not do well for me, but from so many species and plant types to choose from, one can always select what grows well for them.

Just saying,

Yolanda

Welcome dirtygardener!!!! Long or short story, doesn't matter,,,,,we just wanna know how everyone started out! All stories are interesting!!!! Thanks! Rosie

Marianne, your english is just fine. We all understand. I hope you are still enjoying your love for flowers, and also hope that some if not all of your children have inherited your love.

Enjoy your father.

Thanks for the story.

Yolanda

Marianne as Yolanda said,,,,no worries about your English! More important is that you post, and if we need clarification we will respectfully ask!

What a beautiful story, So nice you can still share your love of growing with your dad. I am sure he is very proud that you took after him! Great story!!!!!

We all have a beginning,,,,,Please post YOURS!!!!

I've just been scrolling through this forum and stumbled upon this thread. It is so interesting to hear everybody's stories. So often we share our specific questions and present situations, but without the background, which says so much about all of us as human beings with histories.

Yolanda, your great-aunt sounds just like mine. Exactly! Anything to do with dirt and experimentation, right where she was, Amanda was messing around with it, and amassed a minor library about gardening. It was on account of Aunt Amanda that my Mom had African violets when I was a little girl. I only remember violets being around for a few years when I was a child, but I know my great-aunt had a lot to do with my Mom's having them at all.

[When I think back to what Mom was trying to do with those violets, and consider what I have since learned about them, I think their being relatively short-lived in our house was because all we had was natural light. Where we lived in Anchorage, Alaska, in the winter the shortest day length is about 4.5 hours - and that's sunup to sundown. During the rest of the day in midwinter the sun is always low on the horizon when it shines at all; and on those days the colors of the landscape are mostly blue and gold, not even really white. This quality of light lives romantically in my memory of childhood, but it's not conducive to plant life. No way a violet is going to survive that, even though anything bought in the late Alaska winter would totally thrive even in the darkest north window, with you-can-read-a-book daylight from 4:00 am to midnight by summer solstice. It's no wonder she accepted the science of the situation and moved on.]

I went to Walmart in early March (pre-lockdown) to look for an orchid. I needed flowers - and I like LOTS - when I had only one orchid in bloom and all the amaryllises were nearly done. When I saw no decent orchids but about 5 African violets to choose from - all slightly abused but looking like they could recover - I picked one and brought it home, because of Mom in the 1960s, because of Aunt Amanda in the 1940s and 50s. (Quick edit: If Aunt Amanda were alive today, she'd be 122. She was born in 1898. I'm so privileged to have known her. One of the things she taught me in the 1980's was How To Chop an Onion. :)) She was so special that my cousin named his daughter after her.)

Joan, west central MN, USA

Great story Joan! Bless Aunt Amanda's heart and tenacity! Thanks a bunch. Anyone else???? Rosie

That's some story Joanne, thanks for the contribution!!! Let's have some more input! I know there are many other wonderful stories out there!!!! Rosie