We love the Spider plant, but somehow it got out of fashion and can be very difficult to find in the shops any more. This initiative aims to give the plant some deserved attention for its good qualities. The plant has fine abilities to create an unpretentious and friendly environment. This is not only because of the plant in it self but what we associate it with. The Spider plant is cheap, hard to kill and produces many shoots that very easily can grow into new plants. Because of that it has become the plant of the classroom, the laundrette, the alcoholic, the schoolteacher, the library and other similarities. It has come to represent a simple lifestyle. Its long thin pale green leaves enforce the impression of cheapness.
The Spider plant is often seen in plastic pots or in other sorts of containers suitable for a plant to grow in. In the context of these simple environments where the plant often is spotted makes the fact that someone bothers to take care of the plant very beautiful in some way. In many of these places it seems like the important thing about having a plant is not how it looks or what kind of plant it is, but rather just about having something green growing. It is something quite honest about that and it somehow reflects some very basic human needs.
A good thing about the Spider plant is that its regular production of shoots makes it easy for the plant to spread to person from person, from mother to daughter or from friend to friend. So if the plants commercial life fades out, it will probably still keep on with its simple life in plastic containers.
Even if everyone would not agree about what this plant represent and that it symbolises a certain lifestyle, maybe even a political opinion, The Spider Plant Initiative wants to focus on the cultural meaning of house plants, and in this case particularly the meaning of the Spider plant.
By buying a shoot, you take active part in this initiative simply by being a happy owner. For sure, the plant will turn any fancy saloon into something a bit more down to earth.

London, 2005 12 03