Then you notice the trailing ivy sitting on the desk of the quirky receptionist in your favorite situation comedy. Houseplant BINGO!
The tall corn plant in the corner of the dingy police station as a detective drags a perp in for questioning. Houseplant BINGO!
The palm tree in the office of the misanthropic-yet charismatic doctor. Houseplant BINGO The next thing you know you wasted an hour and a half on the lookout for houseplants in the background of television shows and commercials. So you turn off the television and decide to look up the medicinal properties of a plant you heard about.
The next thing you know you're logging into your YouTube account because you want to leave a comment in a video because the Amaryllis plant growing on the window bench in the background caught your eye. You're wondering what color it was and you want to tell some guy from the Netherlands with the Hindu art fetish that he needs to rotate his Amaryllis once a week so the stem doesn't get crooked like that. You thought you were done playing Houseplant BINGO! but little did you know you had moved onto the bonus round of Houseplant BINGO! where not only do you spot houseplants but you start to critique their placement and husbandry.And now that you know about Houseplant BINGO! you'll play it too. Maybe not today but tomorrow you'll be sitting in your car at a red light tapping your thumbs on the steering wheel to the beat of the song on the radio when it begins. Houseplant BINGO! There, in the window of that apartment a snake plant with yellow leaves that have sunburn because the owner never rotates the plant. Houseplant BINGO! When you get to work you'll see that 6 foot tall poinsettia that only has one leaf per stem and is touching the fluorescent light fixture just before the elevator door closes on the way up to your floor. Houseplant BINGO!
It is America's fastest growing single player game recommended for ages 3+.
Enjoy.
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A year ago I registered the domain www.GardenBloggers.com but didn't do anything with it. When I renewed it last month I decided to finally put it to use. I've started a blog about Garden Blogging and I'll post tutorials on modifying our blogger template and more stuff as time permits. Feel free to look around and test it out. It has more posts than just the one I've put up on the homepage take a look at the Table of Contents for what is written up so far.
I think I already play this to a certain extent! Now I know what it is called!!! LOL. It sure is a lot of fun! Your post was a lot of fun too! I will put your other blog into my blogroll!!! YEAH...more fun with Mr. Brown Thumb!
ReplyDeleteI play houseplant BINGO! and didn't realize others were playing it, too, or that it had a name. I also play versions with trees, shrubs, and flowers. I see plants. I see plants everyhwere.
ReplyDeleteMBT, thanks for providing a name for my strange compulsion. When I watch movies, I always look for plants, trees, flowers, etc. that help interpret a scene or stand in as symbols. For instance, in the movie Amazing Grace, when Wilberforce is walking in the garden with his girlfriend, there is a large specimen of rosemary prominently displayed. Wilberforce proceeds to remember something in his past as the couple brush by the potted plant. Rosemary is an herb associated with memory. I always appreciate movies that take the time to incorporate plants in a meaningful way.
ReplyDeleteIs that what I have been playing? Fun post, I have added your new site in my blogroll. Good to see you blogging again, I have missed your wit.
ReplyDeleteHouseplant... BINGO! (You hit it on the button!) ;-) Fun post. Always nice to have something new to read over here!! :-)
ReplyDeleteHeh, the most odd movie to use for houseplant BINGO is Star Wars II, although my first thought was
ReplyDelete"Ordinary garden geraniums? You can do better than that!"
I guess that reveals my inner nerd in more than one way :)
Thanks for GardenBloggers! I'm already a follower.
glad to see there are other people playing a version of Houseplant BINGO!
ReplyDeleteI knew there had to be a name for it somewhere! I'm glad it's a game, and not a syndrome. Great post!
ReplyDelete~Sarah
My compulsions are milder than yours, Mr Brown Thumb, but I've missed key conversations and actions in movies because some plant caught my eye...especially if it's a historical movie and I'm pretty sure the plant hadn't been brought into trade from its country of origin.
ReplyDeleteIt drives Philo nuts because I have to pause and go google it.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I've always wondered if the plants were phony or real and try to guess. Some of them look too perfect to be real. That's my version of Houseplant Bingo--for extra points!
ReplyDeleteAiyana
Ohhh, its a game! I thought it was a terminal disease and that I had reached the advanced stage where its called 'Houseplant I've-gotta-have-that!' Thank you for reassuring me.
ReplyDeleteBTW, what was that gorgeous tulip on your home page called? I think ' I've-gotta-have-that!' I'll consider later whetther it'll actually survive in hot, humid, sultry India : )
Thanks for dropping by my blog (The Urban Gardener) today and leading me here. I really enjoyed reading your posts.
LOL!! That's awesome...and I'm glad to have company in this. I've been inclined to sit through movie credits because I MUST know the set locations from the cool plants I saw throughout the movie. My son plays for me, too...he spotted a huge colocasia in a church while driving, and we had to back and check it out. Fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteLOL...Good God! I've been playing houseplant BINGO for years and didn't realize there are so many others doing the same thing! Not a day goes by that I don't do this...on the TV...at the movies...while visiting people...at the dentist's office...and on and on... I notice houseplants everywhere I go.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thanks for the laugh!
Oh no- I've already gotten addicted to playing yard plant bingo, now you've got me started on the houseplant variety! I take twice as long to get anywhere because I am always paying more attention to the plants people are growing in their yards, than to where I need to be driving too!
ReplyDeleteSo that's what this strange compulsion is called. I play it all the time - it's never-ending. What's the garden version of it called? I play the same sort of game when out for walks much to the consternation of friends. Thankfully, I get a break from that game when autumn arrives.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting and letting me know I'm not the only one doing this.
ReplyDeleteSunita that tulip is Queen of Night.
OMG - I'm a playa' I notice when something needs water or pruning. I also play "Slip up BINGO". Maybe I will blog about it soon. Had a great giggle at myself and you over this one. I am not laughing at you, just with you.
ReplyDeleteKeep 'em coming & ty