Parlor Palm...

Years ago, (I am so old), when I had my first house to decorate, I would pour over decorating books, looking for any ideas that I might be able to incorporate. What always caught my eye were the large plants. I’m not talking about the charming, well-behaved plants like the little, unobtrusive, philodendrons or pothos that stay neatly tucked around their pots. I mean the big, bold, “here I am” kind of plants. You know, more like the parlor palms. (By the way, there are large, striking philodendrons, too.)



Parlor palms were available in 2 sizes: outsized and tiny. I had to go with the tiny, the 4” pot size, if it was even that big, with a plant that was maybe, maybe 9” tall. I dutifully put it in a pretty container and waited. It grew… slowly. Very slowly. After a few years, I realized that it was indeed inching its way towards being a bold plant.

{Chamaedorea elegans}

My parlor palm was in my living room in California. The beamed ceiling had no insulation to speak of. And we didn’t have air conditioning, so in the summer, the living room was hot. This was Southern California, after all. And in the winter it was cold. Well, cold for Southern California. But my plant bravely pressed on.


When I brought it to North Carolina, an amazing thing happened. It was obviously much happier with the new living room because it did something it had never done before: it bloomed. And it has bloomed every year since we came here. The blooms are curious, but I think they are rather charming. Little, nonchalant, unusual pearls, adorning my parlor palm, reminding me to bloom in a new place, too.


Have a beautiful day!