Plant Feelings - Kit Lyer
The Boquilla Trifoliata plant can mimic the shape of plants that surround it and become almost identical in shape, size, and color, even if the plant it’s mimicking is plastic. Meaning likely, the Boquilla Trifoliata can see.
My best friend Allie first told me this fact randomly while admiring the shape, size, and color of her own plants. She’s always had a deep rooted love for plants, a healthy fondness for their simplicity, a high regard for their tenacity, but has never been obsessed or consumed with their success. I’ve never understood her detachment.
When I was younger there were many things I loved to the extent of obsession. I was enamored with playing the piano and by the praise I received anytime I performed well. That is, until I reached the 10th grade and found people who could play harder pieces than I could. I was a star basketball player in the fifth grade, possessed by the glory of three pointers, but gave up when I realized nobody wanted to come to my games. In eighth grade I started a YouTube channel with a friend but quit after nine months because I ran out of video ideas, because we plateaued at around 400 subscribers, and because my obsession with it expired.
Allie doesn’t obsess, she only cares that her plants can grow. Though none of her plants are the Boquilla Trifoliata, she is still convinced they can see her. Anyone else can water her plants while she’s out of town for the weekend, and she comes back to lifeless plants lacking their luster. Not necessarily dead or dried out, just dejected. But when it’s her doing the watering, they can feel her tenderness and attention, and they respond with vivacity and growth. Quietly, she nurtures them.
I question what it is I’m doing differently from Allie. I’ve tried to take care of my own plants, but they often respond by bloating or wilting, and nothing in between. I’ve tried to show them my love. I’ve tried to give them space and pretend I’m not tormented by the idea of their demise. I’ve tried misting them, flooding them, or denying them until they're parched and desperate. I want them to succeed, I want to succeed. But now, I’m afraid of their senses, what they can feel, if they can hear me think. If plants can see, what do they see when they look at me?
