Show these plants a good time
June 13, 2017 11:31 AM Subscribe
I am plant-sitting my friend's "avant garden" while they are away on holidays for 3 weeks. I have the horticultural side of the commitment sorted, but I am looking for ideas to creatively share photos of the plants' progress with my friend while they are out of the country. I am going to provide them with regular status updates and I would like to send photos of the plants having a good time!
They have been amusingly concerned about the welfare of their tomatoes in particular. So far I have thought of a photo of the plants all watching a movie on my phone (except...how do I take the photo?!), all the plants reading the paper, maybe one plant giving a lecture to the others?
If it's relevant, I know that there are tomatoes, herbs and random plants on the balcony, and two unidentified indoor house plants.
My ideas so far are on the tame side. My friend is a hard-core partying musician, so I would love something that would show the plants letting loose.
Thank you for any ideas :)
They have been amusingly concerned about the welfare of their tomatoes in particular. So far I have thought of a photo of the plants all watching a movie on my phone (except...how do I take the photo?!), all the plants reading the paper, maybe one plant giving a lecture to the others?
If it's relevant, I know that there are tomatoes, herbs and random plants on the balcony, and two unidentified indoor house plants.
My ideas so far are on the tame side. My friend is a hard-core partying musician, so I would love something that would show the plants letting loose.
Thank you for any ideas :)
Googly eyes on the pots doesn't scream rock n roll, but it could be good for a laugh. When you leave, be sure to hide a tiny plastic dinosaur amidst the foliage.
posted by Juniper Toast at 11:40 AM on June 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Juniper Toast at 11:40 AM on June 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
Party hats and horns (from dollar store) for kid-style party. Maybe celebrate the plants' 1-month birthday?
They're in pots, so with a little bit of propping you could arrange a dance party scene.
Empty beer bottles, headphones (lightweight ones of course), possible cig butts - but make sure it's obvious that these are the plants that are hung over, not that you had a messy party on the balcony and left the plants to deal with your trash.
Got a controller for a video game (esp guitar hero)?
Another must-buy = googly eyes. (consider the "kitten's eyes are barely open yet" photo for baby tomatoes, and maybe progress as it grows and turns pink)
posted by aimedwander at 11:45 AM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
They're in pots, so with a little bit of propping you could arrange a dance party scene.
Empty beer bottles, headphones (lightweight ones of course), possible cig butts - but make sure it's obvious that these are the plants that are hung over, not that you had a messy party on the balcony and left the plants to deal with your trash.
Got a controller for a video game (esp guitar hero)?
Another must-buy = googly eyes. (consider the "kitten's eyes are barely open yet" photo for baby tomatoes, and maybe progress as it grows and turns pink)
posted by aimedwander at 11:45 AM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I have a large stock of googly eyes but they are not adhesive. Bonus question: What's the safest way to temporarily attach them to delicate plants?
posted by drunkonthemoon at 12:00 PM on June 13, 2017
posted by drunkonthemoon at 12:00 PM on June 13, 2017
Put one of the houseplants outdoors with an umbrella for a parasol?
attach googly eyes with honey
A plant "chasing" the tomato plant with a knife or other kitchen implement associated with eating tomatoes?
Similarly, one of the indoor houseplants threatening to push the other off a windowsill/ledge? Maybe have it "holding" something threatening?
Tiny plastic dinosaurs are fun no matter what. You could have them swarming a plant, having a pool party in the saucer, etc.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 12:07 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
attach googly eyes with honey
A plant "chasing" the tomato plant with a knife or other kitchen implement associated with eating tomatoes?
Similarly, one of the indoor houseplants threatening to push the other off a windowsill/ledge? Maybe have it "holding" something threatening?
Tiny plastic dinosaurs are fun no matter what. You could have them swarming a plant, having a pool party in the saucer, etc.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 12:07 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
to do the lecture thing, it might be easiest if you got a very small dry-erase board and drew something recognizable on it (structural diagram of a molecule, a supply and demand diagram...). you could also draw up a basketball/football play.
with some dice or cards you could catch them gambling
posted by dismas at 12:16 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
with some dice or cards you could catch them gambling
posted by dismas at 12:16 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
ooh, one plant reading the others a bedtime story!
posted by dismas at 12:29 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by dismas at 12:29 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
or salivating over whatever the plant equivalent of an adult magazine would be (better homes and gardens? modern farmer?)
posted by dismas at 12:30 PM on June 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by dismas at 12:30 PM on June 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
contemplating cannibalism (reading a vegetarian cookbook)
posted by dismas at 12:33 PM on June 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by dismas at 12:33 PM on June 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
How about a shot of the tomato plants cowering in fear away from a jar of spaghetti sauce or canned tomatoes.... another use for the googly eyes!
Do you know any kids with Barbies you could borrow some small plastic instruments (keyboards, guitars, drums) from? Or make your own, from cardboard, bottle caps, cut-up water bottles, whatever. Then pose the plants like the Beatles.
I'm not sure exactly what, but something from "Little Shop of Horrors" maybe?
posted by easily confused at 12:44 PM on June 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
Do you know any kids with Barbies you could borrow some small plastic instruments (keyboards, guitars, drums) from? Or make your own, from cardboard, bottle caps, cut-up water bottles, whatever. Then pose the plants like the Beatles.
I'm not sure exactly what, but something from "Little Shop of Horrors" maybe?
posted by easily confused at 12:44 PM on June 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
Can you sacrifice one of the tomatoes and fashion something like those barfing jack-o-lanterns with the guts and seeds forming the barf?
posted by kapers at 12:44 PM on June 13, 2017
posted by kapers at 12:44 PM on June 13, 2017
These plants need to do some crushed bee pollen like it's cocaine, I'm thinking. Arrange things so that the blossoms are "snorting" through drinking straw, lines of gold-beige powder on a mirror, and put a bottle like this nearby.
posted by desuetude at 12:56 PM on June 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by desuetude at 12:56 PM on June 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
You could get a grocery store tomato to stage a crime scene, rather than sacrificing their tomatoes.
posted by bunderful at 1:02 PM on June 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by bunderful at 1:02 PM on June 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Google Bent Objects for inspiration. Use tomato or plant as a keyword if you like but just poking around the blog will give you tons of ideas for props and scenes.
posted by bunderful at 1:07 PM on June 13, 2017
posted by bunderful at 1:07 PM on June 13, 2017
caveat: I am a jerk
I would go buy some heirloom tomatoes and different size and colors of cherry tomatoes and make it look like the plants are fruiting with those and text them something like "OMG I fed them some weird water and look what happened"
and then I would follow up with ping pong balls
and tennis balls
and a bowling ball
and report back on how sporty they are getting
posted by rmless at 1:47 PM on June 13, 2017 [8 favorites]
I would go buy some heirloom tomatoes and different size and colors of cherry tomatoes and make it look like the plants are fruiting with those and text them something like "OMG I fed them some weird water and look what happened"
and then I would follow up with ping pong balls
and tennis balls
and a bowling ball
and report back on how sporty they are getting
posted by rmless at 1:47 PM on June 13, 2017 [8 favorites]
A bunch of naked barbie dolls (both genders of course) sprawled around after a night of shocking debauchery. Add a few coloured feathers and a tube of lube and some coloured glitter.
All the plants missing from the window sill and evidence that they have gone on a trip themselves, such as a travel brochure. If there are one or two much smaller plants have them stay behind, add a couple of small pillows and a baby washcloth to be a baby blanket and a stuffed toy reading them a small picture book to be the babysitter
Take at least one photo in the dark showing them partying with lights, perhaps watching a rock concert on an iPad.
They will be wearing headphones, right? What kind of small musical instruments can you scare up? Have you checked out the toy section at Value Village and asked if anyone you know has kids that have seven inch electric guitars or tiny drum sets, looked at the dollar store, etc?
Stage a tragedy. If any of the pots are in an easy to find an identical pot, that particular plant is going to suffer from a dreadful accident. An empty pot on its side, a cascade of dirt, a litter of paramedic debris - you know how you always have to clean up those sterile wrappers they throw on the floor. Make it look like the ambulance has just left...
The plants, arrayed outside a funeral home sign, except for the missing one.
The plants, in a nice cemetery beside a small bed of newly dug dirt, gathered around half of them wearing black veils, a tiny spray of artificial flowers, and tiny prayer book.
What kind of a scenario can you come up with involving Miracle-Gro? You could accidentally tip the entire bottle into one of the houseplants that in a series of pictures could get augmented with more and more additional dollar store artificial foliage - first the tips of some similar leaves; then the entire leaves; then some not some similar leaves; then some more not so similar leaves and a bit of vine; then some definitely not similar leaves, a lot of similar leaves, and several vines; then lots and lots of similar leaves, a few definitely not similar leaves, quite a few vines and a poinsettia; and then lots and lots of similar leaves etc, a second smaller poinsettia and some purple tentacles...
Have your friend's plants ever wanted to go zip lining?
posted by Jane the Brown at 4:55 PM on June 13, 2017
All the plants missing from the window sill and evidence that they have gone on a trip themselves, such as a travel brochure. If there are one or two much smaller plants have them stay behind, add a couple of small pillows and a baby washcloth to be a baby blanket and a stuffed toy reading them a small picture book to be the babysitter
Take at least one photo in the dark showing them partying with lights, perhaps watching a rock concert on an iPad.
They will be wearing headphones, right? What kind of small musical instruments can you scare up? Have you checked out the toy section at Value Village and asked if anyone you know has kids that have seven inch electric guitars or tiny drum sets, looked at the dollar store, etc?
Stage a tragedy. If any of the pots are in an easy to find an identical pot, that particular plant is going to suffer from a dreadful accident. An empty pot on its side, a cascade of dirt, a litter of paramedic debris - you know how you always have to clean up those sterile wrappers they throw on the floor. Make it look like the ambulance has just left...
The plants, arrayed outside a funeral home sign, except for the missing one.
The plants, in a nice cemetery beside a small bed of newly dug dirt, gathered around half of them wearing black veils, a tiny spray of artificial flowers, and tiny prayer book.
What kind of a scenario can you come up with involving Miracle-Gro? You could accidentally tip the entire bottle into one of the houseplants that in a series of pictures could get augmented with more and more additional dollar store artificial foliage - first the tips of some similar leaves; then the entire leaves; then some not some similar leaves; then some more not so similar leaves and a bit of vine; then some definitely not similar leaves, a lot of similar leaves, and several vines; then lots and lots of similar leaves, a few definitely not similar leaves, quite a few vines and a poinsettia; and then lots and lots of similar leaves etc, a second smaller poinsettia and some purple tentacles...
Have your friend's plants ever wanted to go zip lining?
posted by Jane the Brown at 4:55 PM on June 13, 2017
If the tomato plants are sturdy enough to support it, buy a couple of dozen on the vine tomatoes and draw expressions on them with a black sharpie. Insert them onto the tomato plants in various different pictures, so that the plants can be looking hung over, surprised, salacious.... whatever expressions you need.
Place a large tomato you bought from the grocery store on one of the tomato plants in a position that makes it look like it is growing on the plant. Take a picture. Place a cute little animal beside the tomato on the plant. Take another picture. Cut a horizontal wedge out of the tomato and serrate the two edges so that there are teeth. Hollow the inside out a bit and insert the head and top of the body of the cute little animal with its feet hanging out. Replace the tomato to its original position. Take a third picture.
Send all three pictures to your friends but with picture number one also as picture number four.
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:11 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Place a large tomato you bought from the grocery store on one of the tomato plants in a position that makes it look like it is growing on the plant. Take a picture. Place a cute little animal beside the tomato on the plant. Take another picture. Cut a horizontal wedge out of the tomato and serrate the two edges so that there are teeth. Hollow the inside out a bit and insert the head and top of the body of the cute little animal with its feet hanging out. Replace the tomato to its original position. Take a third picture.
Send all three pictures to your friends but with picture number one also as picture number four.
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:11 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
When I went away once my brother set up an email account for my cat and she 'sent' me emails. Consider setting one up for the tomatoes to send the photos from.
posted by scrute at 5:18 PM on June 13, 2017
posted by scrute at 5:18 PM on June 13, 2017
In the weeks you could fight some sort of surreal infestation of disco-listening lawn gnomes, or miniature marxist dandelions.
posted by nickggully at 5:43 PM on June 13, 2017
posted by nickggully at 5:43 PM on June 13, 2017
Make or buy some of those photo booth props, like cardboard glasses frames on a stick, or mustache on a stick, etc., etc.
Create a little murder scene, with a squished grocery store tomato.
Do a beach scene, and have some sun dried tomatoes.
Hide little toys in among the plants and have the pic be an I Spy game.
posted by wwartorff at 6:04 PM on June 13, 2017
Create a little murder scene, with a squished grocery store tomato.
Do a beach scene, and have some sun dried tomatoes.
Hide little toys in among the plants and have the pic be an I Spy game.
posted by wwartorff at 6:04 PM on June 13, 2017
You can make a guitar for them to play by pasting a picture onto cardboard or some similar stock.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:35 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 7:35 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was just checking to see if there were any updates or photos. Not that there's any obligation to provide either, just that this was a fun ask and I'm a tad curious about the outcome.
posted by bunderful at 8:46 AM on July 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bunderful at 8:46 AM on July 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
You might check the tomatoes one day and find that they had a party - beer cans everywhere.
They could read books, sing, train for marathons, tell ghost stories, write songs (which you would of course record and send), take up tai chi, entertain visitors (stuffed animals or dolls). Heck one of them might make out with Malibu Barbie at said party.
posted by bunderful at 11:40 AM on June 13, 2017 [3 favorites]