It all started with some Lucky Bamboo...

This poor specimen started my entire obsession! When I was six or so, I visited Minneapolis for the first time. My family made the expected pilgrimage to the Mall of America (aka paradise!), and I left carrying one tiny stalk of so-called Lucky Bamboo in an Asian-themed container. My mother cared for it for the next eleven years. To her distress and mine, every few years, all the leaves would turn yellow and drop off. They would all grow back, though. However, last April it looked as though the plant was gone for good; the entire thing was yellowed and brown. In early May, I attended a local swap meet/gigantic garage sale (I'm not quite sure what to call it), where I saw a couple ladies selling plants. I inquired, interested in replacing my "dead" bamboo, and walked away with a Christmas Cactus ('buckleyi', I believe), Devil's Ivy, and a tiny little African Violet, each of which I bought for a dollar. Well, I certainly got my $3 worth of enjoyment out of them, since they're all thriving. I started to realize that I really enjoyed taking care of my plants, so I went out and bought a Phalaenopsis orchid, an Echeveria, an Areca Palm, and twenty-some other plants in a matter of two months. And the best part... One day, I peeled back one of the yellow leaves of the bamboo -and it was green underneath. I removed all the dead leaves, learned a little bit more about the plant, and it's thriving in the windowsill right behind me.