The Sunday Digest 130
"Seasons round, creatures great and small, up and down, as we rise and fall."
Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if podcasts are more your speed on Sundays, we’ve got that too.
Sunday Read › Does Your Plant Need a Nanny?
by Jennifer Bradley Franklin
They say “a house doesn’t make a home” but I’m pretty certain that some well-placed plants can make any home feel refreshing on a Sunday afternoon. Jealousy hits me when I walk in to someone’s place and feel surrounded by greenery.
My pride and joy these days? The rose bush in front of my house that I got around this time last year. I have a theory they’re easy to keep alive, but it’s the first plant of my own that I have a feeling for. I know when it needs water or sunlight, I know when it needs to be pushed under our porch, and I know which instructions to give to keep it thriving if I have to leave town for a couple days. It’s the one plant that makes me feel like Andre 3000 when he’s in his garden:
I wasn’t always like this though, especially when it comes to houseplants.
I’ve killed more fiddle-leaf figs than I’m willing to admit. While working in retail through my twenties, someone thought it would be a good idea to task me with watering the plants despite the fact that I barely even knew how to responsibly take care of my own body. The owners (bless them) somehow didn’t fire me when they walked in one day and saw them struggling, all due to my erratic watering schedule.
Was I over-watering them? Not watering them enough? Are they getting too much light in the morning, or not enough light overall? ChatGPT didn’t exist to ask and I was too lazy (and probably too hungover) to crack a book on indoor plants. Perhaps I should’ve consulted the plant nannies featured in this week’s read.
Here’s an excerpt:
Emotional connections with plants can run deep. Clients grieve if a plant dies or even sometimes if its leaves or branches need to be pruned, Mr. Easton, the Plant Mon, said. As their personal plant whisperer, he supports them through the process. “I’m like, ‘Look, we’re going to let this leaf go. We’re going to say a prayer. It’s going to come back,’” he said. “These plants are more immortal than we are.”
Read in full here through a free gift link.
The Sunday Haiku: “Why is my scented candle tunneling?”
All you have to do
is put foil around the top
and it evens out.
New Episode › Retail Therapy 112: Spicy Sauv in the Airport Lounge
Are we doing spicy sauvignon blanc? Do you have enough money to justify having rich people windows or a plant nanny? Answers to those questions and more this week. We also talk about my recent New York trip with Heineken, the rise of airport lounge romances, wishlist items, and more.
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found. You can also follow Retail Therapy on Substack.
Things I Saved This Week
Additional Reading
This week featured a new edition of Postcards from Mexico.
I enjoyed this style inspiration from a Paris flea market a lot.
I need Balthazar owner Keith McNally’s book to arrive at my house after this New York Times piece on him.
“How can I support Sunday Scaries?”
Buy our zine, Scenes of Note.
Listen to Retail Therapy.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Subscribe to all Washed Media Podcasts.
Or, you can simply subscribe here: