Poinsettias in July
By Mary Dudley, CGC Director of Education
You know you’re kind of a weirdo when you’re planning out a clandestine routine to care for a poinsettia beyond the culturally approved month of December. But that’s exactly what I found myself doing while working at the Chase Bank branch in Longmont, Colorado in 2006.
I moved to Boulder with a few college friends after earning my bachelor’s degree in botany from Miami University in Oxford and was job hopping when I passed an online test and got offered a teller position at the bank. Boulder had a great music scene, endless outdoor adventures, and stellar local restaurants, so the financial capital I needed to keep up with my social life was always an issue—I was largely broke most of the time!
The shifts I worked at the bank in panty hose were VERY different from my days as a CGC intern, and I found myself distractedly looking out the drive-thru window, daydreaming about my next creeking hike. I had asked the management staff if I could have a plant by my station, and the answer was a solid no, citing possible allergy and soil contamination issues.
I had resigned myself to the boredom of a plant-free workspace when a few poinsettias appeared on the windowsill in mid-December. Determined to nurture this little sprig of greenery, I quietly took over watering duties, carefully removing leaves that were about to fall. To my surprise, it was nearly mid-February before anyone noticed that they needed space for hearts and bows and asked if I wanted to take the plants home. Of course I did, but I was sad to see them leave the office.
I didn’t last long as a teller. Soon I was back in Ohio and excited to come back to the gardens of the CGC. Twenty years later, the CGC has truly become a second home. I am so grateful to hold multiple memories of plant sales, truck break downs, and years of raising my children in the back offices. Some days I feel like a total noob as I try to figure out the simplicities of circuits while other days I feel the happy, productive buzz of a dynamic team all working towards the same goal.
A home is a place you feel safe, where you can let your guard down, put your feet up, and host friends. A home changes over time as you gather more artwork, rearrange furniture, and remodel rooms.
The CGC has changed as we respond to the challenges of those who come asking for help. The reading room hosts a forest of indoor plants, and the gardens are buzzing with pollinators feeding on native species. The mission is the same, but we’ve changed how we play the game. Rewrite the rules and turn up the tunes, because this is a celebration. The CGC has been a pillar of community for plant people for more than 80 years. Weirdos like me, tending to that forsaken poinsettia, can find their crew here. This has never been truer to me than just a few days ago, when I walked into the bathroom and saw a very happy poinsettia…in July!