Cut Budgets Like Grass

Tiny budget cut at my work:

We used to have a service that would send someone to water the plants and replace the tall bristly ones on a regular basis before they started to look old. That service is gone.

Resulting challenge:

By the time we noticed the plant maintenance people hadn't come in a while, the plants in hanging pots were wilting and nearly dead. They were dropping yellow leaves all over the recycle bins and part of a study area. It was not a very attractive addition to the decor. (Message: "Come to the library and wither away while you study".)

Coping mechanism:

We were told we could just throw them out, but instead a colleague and I appointed ourselves Plant Caregivers and have been watering them once a week and trimming off the dead leaves.

 

Outcome:

After a few weeks, and a return of some healthy green color, I think they're gonna make it! Good old-fashioned plant-watering gumption saves the day.

For a while, at least. I don't know much about plants, so I have no idea of their natural lifespan. The tall bristly ones that used to be replaced every few months are the big question for me. Was there a reason to take them away every so often? Do they topple over dead at 6 months? Do they sprout odiferous blossoms? Grow flytrap maws and start snapping up the students?

Being as I'm a librarian, one would think I could do some research on the subject and attempt to locate answers to these questions, but that feels like work. Maybe I'd rather just twiddle my thumbs and wonder.

Attack of the Innocuous-Looking Plants

Although I have not, to my knowledge, seen the plant named in this post, the wild parsnip, but I was duly cowed by the description of its secret weapon.

Unlike the friendly parsnips you can buy in the store and roast up into deliciousness (especially good in a nice root veg mix with carrots, turnips and sweet potatoes!), this plant produces a chemical that makes causes phytophotodermatitis, making one particularly susceptible to ultraviolet light so that even mild sun exposure can result in serious burns. 

As a pale and sunburny person, I will have to add this plant to my list of things at which to look askance. If I see it, that is. I don't spend that much time roaming about among the weeds these days, so I'm not aware of having encountered it so far, although its range does include Massachusetts.

Clearly the vegetable kingdom is not all fun and games, my friends, oh no!