Meet Rosie, our shy plant – her leaves close when you touch them. I transplanted her from the curbside – without gloves (ouch!) and ignoring the confused looks from the neighbors – I know it’s a weed!

We planted her in a pretty pot, trimmed her thorns and now we feed her blended up veggie scraps from the kitchen. She is, I suspect, the best cared-for weed in the neighborhood!  She sits on our breakfast table and every morning my daughters tickle her leaves to watch her curl up…

It can be hard to get kids excited about plants. In fairness, it can be hard for adults to get excited about plants too – they take a while to grow, they don’t do much of anything, and they are all to easy to forget…and subsequently neglect. Rosie is different. Actually, she’s the first plant that my daughter has named – and when it comes to connecting with nature – I think that’s pretty promising…