You be the judge: should my flatmate stop filling our home with plant cuttings?
I've lived with my flatmate Cleo for four years now. She wasn't into plants to begin with. Now she's obsessed. She's always cloning plants, trying to grow something new. That would be fine if it was contained to her room, but it's everywhere. Every surface has something sprouting on it. There are leaves in plastic containers in our living room, small stems in old Gü dessert pots in the bathroom, plants in nursery pots on every kitchen surface.
Plants are not the issue. I love plants in our flat – they're gorgeous. It's more the constant propagation: the jars, the clippings, the mess …
I didn't sign up to live in a botanical experiment. One time I knocked over a jar with a baby stem in our kitchen while cooking, so I refilled it with fresh water. But Cleo got so mad. She said I'd tipped out the 'hormone-rich water' and that I'd slowed down the growing process. But I didn't know any of this. If she'd placed the plant out of the way, it wouldn't have happened.
I feel like a guest in a trendy houseplant shop – one that doesn't shift enough plants. Cleo has started listing some on Facebook Marketplace and giving them to friends, but we're still surrounded. There must be over 40 plants in our flat, and our flat is small.
There's also the mess of repotting. We don't have a garden so Cleo does everything indoors, and drops soil everywhere. I've stepped on perlite barefoot and it hurt. The shower can also become a makeshift bath for Cleo's plants, and I don't love the leaves and soil that are often left behind. The sink was also constantly blocked from her rinsing out compost trays. To be fair to Cleo, that doesn't happen as often since I bought it up.
There are good sides to Cleo's green fingers. I do love having our own herb garden – Cleo makes sure there is always basil and thyme on the windowsill for us to pick. And I love a hanging pothos or orchid as much as the next person. But I need my counter space back.
It's not just a hobby, I've created an ecosystem of calm in our city home. Plus, I make good money
Jade complains about having plant clippings on every surface, but I'd argue she benefits greatly from the oxygen-rich atmosphere I've curated. Plants clean the air, reduce anxiety and look lovely. My propagation habit is not just a hobby, it's an ecosystem of calm in our big-city home.
Coming back from work and misting a monstera is so relaxing. Propagating plants is my favourite thing, and I don't want to stop. It's grounding. I have asked Jade to water my plants when I've been away, and she always says how much she enjoys it, how it helps calm her down. I know she'd miss them if they were gone.
Yes, sometimes I repot things in the kitchen, but I always clean up after. I don't always catch every speck of soil, but we have a good hoover, so I vacuum it whenever I see it.
I've become even more interested in propagating recently, as I've realised that I can make a bit of money if I do it properly. People pay a lot for new plants in pristine condition, and it could be a nice little side hustle. So yes, there is a small invasion of jars and plastic boxes on windowsills, but what else do we use the windowsills for? I think it's a creative use of space. Our landlord said the flat has never looked more lived-in. Last week, a friend said our flat felt like a 'healing centre'. That was a big compliment, but Jade calls our flat a jungle.
When she poured out the water from one of the jars, I was annoyed, because I was trying to make that plant sprout roots. I'd told her you're supposed to keep the same water as it is filled with hormones. Jade wasn't that apologetic and it took longer than usual for that plant to grow.
I could ease up on the clippings, but I'm still refining my technique. Also, as it's summer, it's going to get worse before it gets better, because now is peak growing time. I only got into propagating earlier this year, so it's been a bit of a shock for Jade to see how quickly things have expanded.
But it won't be for ever. She just needs to be a little bit more patient.
Sign up to Inside Saturday
The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.
after newsletter promotion
Should Cleo ease off on the propagating?
Cleo needs to respect that the flat is a shared space and if her plant craze is infringing on Jade's bandwidth, it needs to be downsized. So-called objective arguments on oxygen and mental health don't fly if the plants are more of a nuisance than a relief. Maitri, 37
Jade no longer feels comfortable in her own home, so it's clear a line has been crossed. Cleo calls Jade unapologetic, yet seems blase about how her hobby is completely taking over their shared space. They need to establish some ground rules and plant-free zones.Eric, 32
I definitely see how Cleo's green thumb benefits Jade, but Jade didn't sign up to live in a garden nursery. Perhaps Cleo could look into an allotment and they could agree on a fixed number of plants/cuttings in the flat at any given time.Cesario, 36
The reality is the majority of big city flats are humid and stuffy – perfect for plant propagation, but also insects, rodents and mould. A few plants would be fine, but a windowsill full of yogurt pots? If Cleo wants to continue, she needs a more efficient process (a vertical hydroponic system, perhaps), or to keep her plants to her room. Gul, 18
Plants are lovely, but when you live in a shared space you can't commandeer every surface – especially when you're not cleaning up thoroughly. Cleo needs to keep her hobby to her bedroom – she can invest in a shelf unit and grow light.Sarah, 45
In our online poll, should Cleo stem her hobby?
The poll closes on Wednesday 9 July at 10am BST
We asked whether Georgia should stop kissing her boyfriend after kissing the cat
72% said yes – Georgia is guilty28% said no – Georgia is innocent
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
When daddy's little girl grows up: She was my princess
How do fathers feel when their daughters start having sex? One man drove to the house of his 16-year-old daughter's boyfriend at 1am. Was she there, he wondered, and, if so, what were they doing? Looking up at the dark windows and feeling foolish, this confident businessman realised he hadn't a clue what to do next. What he wanted to do was smash down the door and drag the young man out. He realised then that his feelings stemmed not so much from parental concern as a deep, tearing-apart jealousy . . . Albert*, 42, is a psychotherapist and trainer with Relate. His daughter, Eve, 20, has a 20-month-old daughter, Corinne. Eve and I were very close. She was just lovely, a delight. When she was about six, I remember coming home and hearing her shout 'Daddy's home', then she'd rush along the hallway and literally leap through the air into my arms. She could wind me round her little finger. 'D-a-a-ad . . .' she'd say, when she wanted something, and it always worked. When she became a teenager, all that changed. Instead of 'D-a-a-ad, can I stay out later tonight?', she'd simply come back late. She couldn't always be trying to win her freedom, she'd got to grab it, I saw that. But because I understood what was happening, I felt I should be able to accept it much better. Eve was behaving in ways that my head understood but my heart felt bludgeoned by. She must have wondered why I was suddenly so cold and disapproving. Two things happened. Her body changed, she became more womanly, a much more sexual being. And because we'd been so close, she suddenly found her relationship with me a threat. The cuddles stopped. They were too scary, the budding sexuality was there. For her, it must have felt like she was losing her daddy, while I was desolate because I'd lost my little girl. When Eve started her first sexual relationship, she said to her mother, 'Don't tell Dad.' Fortunately my wife felt I needed to know and I remember thinking oh God, she's only 14. When your daughter's been the apple of your eye, it's difficult to feel her choices are good enough for her. That was something I had to struggle with. It was a period of loss. I felt I had to relinquish control - though I was never one to play the heavy father. We hear a lot these days about sexual abuse in families - quite rightly - but there are also dangers at the other end of the continuum, fathers who won't allow their daughters to be sexual, refuse to give them permission. I wanted to keep my daughter as my little princess but there was also the big fear that my love for her could be seen as a sexual thing. So Eve did what many teenagers do. She decided her life was outside the home and she was hardly ever there. Around this time my wife and I broke up. Eve lived with me at first, but then decided to move in with her boyfriend. 'You're far too young to live with anybody, it's crazy,' I told her, but there was no way she'd listen. I ended up saying: 'Well I don't approve, but you've made your bed, you must lie on it.' At 16 she became pregnant. She talked to her mum about it and finally decided on a termination. But I was the one who insisted on driving her to the clinic in Leeds that Saturday morning. It was horrendous to be doing something like that - I don't mean for me, I mean for her. About a dozen other cars were arriving and I was the only man there. It didn't half hit me, the male part in it, so my feelings about her boyfriend weren't too hot. His attitude to the whole thing was: 'It's nothing to do with me'. Then at 18 she got pregnant again, by the same man, which made it even worse from my point of view, though now I get on with him OK. This time she was determined to have the child, even though there was no question of her setting up home with the father. I hit the roof. 'How can you be so stupid? You can't take a baby back after a month,' I said. 'It's an 18- year job and it goes on after that.' Although she heard me, I think she also heard that I wanted to wring her neck. Now all I can say is that for the first time in her life, I'm proud of my daughter. That might sound awful. I've loved her ever so much for many years, but never before felt proud. She was just a delight and because she got loved so easily and unconditionally I think, as a consequence, she never asked a lot of herself. Now she's living in a grotty little flat on very little money and the start she's given to her daughter in life is brilliant. She's a truly wonderful mother. When little Corinne had her first birthday, I gave her mother a present, too, and a card: in it I told her just how proud I was of her and what a wonderful first year she'd given her child. I didn't think I'd ever feel this way, you see, because Eve seemed to make so many rotten choices and I'd always wanted to be all things to her. I'm not ashamed of my feelings about my daughter and the joys of being her dad. The names in the article have been changed. (Photograph omitted)
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Dartford warblers on the Dorset oilfields
When working as a librarian in a scientific research station for the gas industry, I was used to obscure demands for information. Among these were regular requests from the biologists about wildlife, flora and fauna on the Dorset oilfields. The Dartford warbler (Country diary, 30 June) was largely conserved due to the diligence of our scientists, anxious to ensure the drilling did not have an adverse effect on the natural habitat. Susan BaillieWeymouth, Dorset I was very pleased to see that your Wimbledon article mentioned next week's high court review of the approval of the All England Lawn Tennis Club's project to build '39 new tennis courts' (What to watch out for at Wimbledon 2025: no line judges and more expensive strawberries, 27 June). A shame that it did not add 'and an 8,000-seater stadium'.Sue JonesLondon I hate to sound crusty, but anyone concerned about the thickness of sliced bread (Letters, 1 July) should use their loaf and consider buying unsliced, or baking their own, and slicing it to BarnardWivenhoe, Essex Surely Daisy Buchanan, the author of your article (Choose comfort, ditch boring and prioritise pleasure – how to find the perfect beach read, 2 July), should read The Great GidlowFaversham, Kent A cautionary sign seen on a Scotrail train: 'Stay out: Bagpipe practice room' (Letters, 1 July).John CaskenWooler, Northumberland All these sayings are very annoying, but we are where we are (Letters, 2 July).Alison McIntoshEdinburgh Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Johnny's Happy Place marks 10 years supporting mental health
A community cafe founded in memory of a man who took his own life is celebrating its tenth anniversary this Happy Place in Kettering, Northamptonshire, was set up in 2014 by the family of Johnny Mackay, who died at the age of 29 after years of drug and alcohol addiction and undiagnosed mental health cafe offers free mental health sessions with trained counsellors, and art mother, Denise McKay, 76, said: "It's been a remarkable journey. We get more and more people in every week, and what surprises me most is that [the local community] is embracing us, supporting us financially, and becoming involved." In the wake of Mr McKay's death, his family and friends were determined to honour his memory, and two months later they were offered an unused cafe space that became the foundation for Johnny's Happy McKay, who previously worked in the hotel trade and now also volunteers with the British Heart Foundation, said the cafe has been her lifeline."When Johnny died, I sort of gave up my life. I didn't do anything, I just focused on this," she said."Starting a cafe sounded preposterous at the time. None of us had any experience, but I'm so glad it was suggested. Every time I open the door, I'm pleased to be here."Ten years on, Ms McKay said strangers still share stories about Johnny with her. "They knew him and they have such wonderful anecdotes," she Happy Place will hold its anniversary event at the cafe on 6 July. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
