Home sweet home

On a cold July morning in 1991, I arrived from the Netherlands as a new immigrant to New Zealand. I had literally nothing with me besides two suitcases with clothes.

I came from a horticultural background and I needed a plant to brighten up the place, but houseplants were not the thing in those days and there was little choice. I placed it on the windowsill – a bit of greenery and a touch of home – and nurtured it over the years to come.

This July I have been in New Zealand for 30 years and the ponytail palm has been with me all that time.

Like myself, it has grown, matured and flourished in these 30 years and... is feeling right at home and happy.

Maynard Noordeloos, Christchurch