The old philodendron

What is an heirloom? It depends on whom you ask. Heirlooms hold value, but not always in the monetary way that one may think. The greatest value that may be tied to an heirloom is often the sentimental memories and stories tied to it.

The idea of passing something down through the generations in a family has always struck me.  I love the idea of wondering where something came from and the sense of tradition that comes with items that have been handed down through different generations in families.

When I walk through an antique mall, I’m always left to wonder where did these items come from? Who used to use these plates and drank from these glasses? What stories did these items hold and what memories were tied to them for others? I’m also left to wonder, why did someone from the family of these items not keep them? Why did they end up here in the first place? Why didn’t someone in the family see value in them?

I’ve said many times that flowers and nature are deeply tied to my memories, and an old philodendron plant that was in my childhood home for as long as I can remember is no exception. My mom and dad were married when they were 22- and 23-years-old back in 1986.  Like many young couples just starting out, they lived in an apartment. One of the first things my mom got was a philodendron plant for their apartment. My mom bought it at a little plant shop with her dad in Nashville, Ind., when my mom first married my dad. This was the first plant my mom ever bought.

The old philodendron plant my mom has had for over 37 years. (Photo provided by Megan Rathz)

I was born just a little over a year later, making this philodendron something that was a fixture in my childhood home. As I write this today, this philodendron plant is over 35 years old.

My mom recently gave me a start from the original plant for me to have in my own home, and it got me thinking about the significance of what our children remember growing up with in their home, what we leave to them, and how nature ties into the idea of being an heirloom in families.

The average person walking by my living room may not think much of this plant, if they even were to notice it at all, but to me this means so much more than the start of an old plant. This is a link to my childhood, a peek into my parents’ lives when they were first married, and something that has stood the test of time throughout my life.

This plant has been through a lot with my family. It has been a constant. It has seen many dogs, different houses, Christmas mornings, family dinners, great memories and some sad ones, too.  It saw my parents raise two kids, my sister and me, from the time we were taken home from the hospital at birth until we both moved out to get married. It was there when my mom and sister met my now-husband for the first time, and when I brought my little girl and boy to Grandma’s house for the first time. It was also there during some really sad days like when we lost my dad.

The philodendron plant that I remember from my childhood will grace my mantle, just as it has my mother’s mantle all these years, and one day, it may just end up on my daughter’s mantle in her home.

Sure, it just looks like a random houseplant on a mantle for a passerby, but to me it is so much more. It is an heirloom. It is a link to my past. It is a window into my parents’ world during their newlywed years. It is a start of something new to have in my own home for my own children to grow up and remember being a constant in their house. I hope the start of this old philodendron that sits on my mantle will also be there to see many days and memories in my own home now.  I hope it sees many happy days for my children and they grow up and look back, thinking it sure had been around for a lot of their childhood. What is a start from a plant now will, I hope, be a valuable heirloom someday for them.

Nature is giving us an opportunity to pass down heirlooms to our family. What are you passing down in your family?

Megan Rathz is a wife, mother and teacher. She says everything she has ever learned in life came from her Master Gardener mother.