Plants are expensive. I wouldn’t balk at paying $300 for a pair of shoes, but to spend the same amount for a 1-metre high palm? Mmmmm. But with a couple of indoor plants certainly adding some organic, aesthetic adornment to the house, we always look forward to adding a couple more, but certainly not one that costs $300. Though if money was no object, I would fork out that much more for the appealing larger size of the plant rather than the rarity of it.

We wanted to put a plant out the newly rebuilt deck so off we went to perhaps, the best garden place in Auckland for great prices and sheer variety of choices, Roger’s Garden Centre in Mangere.

The whole set-up is outdoors- so wear footwear that can slosh through sometimes wet and muddy paths- with plants arranged by type and variety. There is a charming pavilion which houses indoor plants. In summer, it becomes a maze of luscious green vegetation and people pushing the familiar flamingo-pink wheelbarrows. In winter, it is still pretty like Sleeping Beauty’s garden, bewitched to sleep and stasis. Towards the back, a veritable forest of stick trees- peaches, apples and cherries- all bereft of leaves, seem to be waiting for that magical touch that would bring them back to life.

You always find something else other than the one you intended to buy, and for us, it was a couple of flowering shrubs that will be going to the front garden that M has been working on. And for me, I found a variegated miniature ficus; a steal (for its size) at $39.