Notes from the shelf

Small observations, watering rhythms, and the slow joy of watching things grow while we work the space.

This week we started preparing the shopfront near to the Talad Pak Klong for our opening in September. There were many browning leaves that needs trimming. It's been a working week at the shop making small progress.

Since there is minimal light, we did our watering by weight now and not by schedule. One way of knowing is to lift the pot, if it's light, it's thirsty, if it has weight, it can wait. It takes the guesswork out and, more importantly, it takes the calendar out. Plants don't know what day it is.

What we noticed

• The hoyas are putting out waxier leaves where the light is strongest.
• The philodendrons in the back corner have started reaching — a sign they want to be moved closer to the window.

A note on patience

The plants that look like they're doing nothing are usually doing the most. The work is happening underground, in the dark, where no one is watching. Our job is mostly to pay attention and not interfere more than we have to.