My umbrella tree has a new shoot!

A tiny domestic miracle: a lively green shoot, leaves already showing at its tips, which will grow at an amazing rate over the next fortnight to join its sister branches adding life and joy to our livingroom. See the tiny sprout in the centre of the picture? It's about 3cm long (just over an inch, if you're still non-metric):

I love growing things. Sadly circumstances haven't been conducive to nurturing a really fantastic veggie garden over the last few years, but still I have my potted plants which enrich my life.

My longest "relationship" with a potted plant is the palm I bought to adorn the first flat I leased alone. It is one hardy plant! It has followed me through thirteen moves sincew 1996 - a pretty good track record.

This umbrella tree has only been with me since June last year. It's endured my long hospitalisation and subsequent recuperation, three moves and the long and very crowded drive from Adelaide to Melbourne five weeks ago (yes, the poor trunk is still crooked ... but I have faith in its resilience). The recent branches each have their own story: this newest is the first shoot born in Melbourne; the previous arrived while I was living in some friends' granny flat; the one before that marked my return home from hospital ... it's a living storybook.

"So what? It's a shoot on a plant." Yes, but it's a shoot on my plant, my beloved plant, and it's a vivid sign of new life.

This certainly counts as one of my favourite things.