I think that many of you know I can get a bit carried away buying plants sometimes. Sometimes a particular plant with become the plant of the moment and I buy a few. Yes a few, sometimes one is just not enough.
But let's start at the very beginning, which is a very good place to start (I am told). This is the first Peace Lily (Spathiphyllium) I bought. I reckon it was around ten years ago as I bought her for my new office at my new job at that time. She lived happily in the office for around eight years on and off. I say happily, by which I mean I routinely neglected her and she mainly was watered when she had flopped. I used to bring her home for the Christmas holidays so that she did not die whilst I was away and the heating was turned off in the building. That she survived when I went on other holidays is just a miracle. She has grown well and large over this period and I bought her home a couple of times to pot her on into a larger pot. She liked this.
When the pandemic started and the lockdown was becoming apparent, I brought her home for what I thought would be a few weeks, maybe two or three months. I had not really got a space for her, but I popped her on the sideboard that had belonged to my grandparents, just out of direct sunlight but a little too close to the radiator. She was sort of happy, particularly in the summer when the heating was not on and I did remember to water her more often as I have more a watering routine at home. After a few months I placed her into the plant stand that the large aspidistra used to live in. The large aspidistra was promoted to living outside and so it left a nice space. The Peace Lily loves this new position and despite the fact I have been back in the office regularly for over a year when lockdowns have allowed, she has not been moved back into the office. I have taken some plants into the office but not this one. I cannot explain this other than she seems happy here and does get watered more frequently. I have never seen her flower as regularly as she does now.
Last time I repotted her I broke off a section to see if it would thrive. Maybe if I watered the offspring a bit more regularly it would. I should have not have put it in the conservatory as I think there was too much light for it. It was away from the windowsill but by its nature the conservatory does have a lot of light and Peace Lilies prefer a little distance from direct sunlight. It is also incredibly cold in there. My heating broke down for a few days recently when it was descending to temperatures of -7 outside and whilst I have an open fire and a couple of electric radiators that kept the house bearable, I did not heat the conservatory. Several of my plants are very grumpy about this. I have placed the baby into the corner of the kitchen now, there is less light and it is warmer so I shall keep my fingers crossed for it.
Fast forward to the other week and I was shopping in my local co-op. It is a nice walk to the co-op so I often pop in to pick up things I need in between big shops. I had seen the trolley of Peace Lilies that last couple of times I had been in there. I noted that they were 'in' the shop and not by the front door. I gave them a cursory glance but walked past them a few times......
.... until I noticed this one with the sassy variegated leaf. I did that thing that plant-obsessives do, I furtled around in the pot to see if it was one sick leaf or something more interesting. It was something more interesting, there was a definite sprout of variegated leaves, a definite promise of more to come. So of course I bought it, how could I not. There are variegated versions of Peace Lilies so it felt like a bargain 2 in 1 situation.
..... and then I went to Calke Abbey for my traditional pre-Christmas fudge, cheese and nearly-dead plant buying day. I did make a 'nearly dead' purchase from the 'save me' bargain plant stand at the nearby garden-centre, but that was an aspidistra; whilst wandering the rest of the house plant area I came across this Spathiphyillium wallesii 'Bellini'. It waved at me, I swear it waved at me.
"Look at my pretty spathe' it sang to me siren-like, 'look at the pretty green veining'.
Well I did look and I did admire and, of course, I purchased. It would have been rude not to.
I am not planning on buying any more, but can you have too much peace? I think not.
Take care and be kind.