“It’s like a reward,” I whisper to myself while sipping an iced coffee on my porch, soaking in the first rays of sunshine. My husband looks at me and rolls his eyes, knowing that I have never seen Django. He asks, just in case he may be wrong for once, “Have you ever seen that movie?” Of course, I have not.
Like 95% of my pop culture references, this one has been consumed by myself secondhand. It starts with the movie, then a meme. It spreads to video clips, and then, finally, is consumed by my younger siblings or friends, where it gets picked up by myself and repeated in what I find to be fitting situations (regardless of the original nature).
My small offhand comment turns into a flurry of morning conversation that I was not quite prepared for. Debating the philosophical attributes of something as commonplace as media consumption and cultural effects before my coffee intake has reached full capacity is not something I find myself fully capable of. Instead of responding rationally, I fuel the fire by throwing in a casual “you’re killing me smalls” as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
The Sandlot is best described as the quintessential movie of my husband’s childhood, and while I have seen most of it, there has never been a single time where I have sat down and watched the entire movie from beginning to end. I am fully aware that this is considered a crime in his eyes. My lack of movie knowledge was our relationship’s number one red flag. Thankfully, it was not a character flaw that prevented our eventual nuptials.
Andrew is a fountain of media knowledge. His movie collection is documented, sorted, and filed. He enjoys watching the same movies over and over again just as much as he watches new ones. It is something I enjoy watching him enjoy. It is a pillar of who he is.
In comparison, gardening is my version of movies – the pillar that makes me who I am at the core. Plants are an entirely different type of consumption, and they take a little longer than your average television episode. The different types of gardeners are as vast as genres of movies. Each plant family has different roles and is constantly expanding their repertoire – so much so that I find myself clinging to our App to help me remember all the details of each plant. Finding a new plant to take care of, or walking through a nursery brings me just as much joy as an evening at the theater does for my husband.
The quintessential plant, plants plural technically, of my childhood will always be a Passion Basket. The mix of petunias and calibrachoas added in with a verbena and cascading geranium. It is something that I know by heart. I have the colors and mixes cataloged in my mind. This is my comfortable space, the movie that I watch again and again.
A solid hanging basket is a classic movie that everyone should know of in my world. I sometimes find myself surprised that some of these plants are brand new to people. I know I am not the average individual. I spent years consuming plant names and yard combinations over movies and TV shows. It is an experience that I find hard to articulate properly. It is something that I am still learning to share and educate others on. My darling husband is very good at asking questions and taking an interest to help me out.
The media world is ever-changing, and new movies are constantly being released. Similarly, new varieties of plants are coming to The Garden Corner. Familiar plants that I can grow again and again, mixed in with new fresh varieties that I am trying out. The latest additions to a well-established series.
During these times, it is very helpful to have someone on the inside. My husband informs me of movie release dates and sends me trailers of shows he thinks we would like to watch together. I bring home new plants for our yard and teach him how to take care of them. Both of us, it seems, benefit from each other’s insider knowledge, and that is the way we like it.
