It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how many things seem to change, nothing really changes all that much in the grand scheme of things.

Through the many times sitting in this office with my grandfather on days off from school, I vividly recall my grandmother (called “Nana” by my sister and I & “Aunt Sally” by the rest of the neighborhood) caring for the office plants. I often wondered whether my grandfather appreciated the variety of plants that my grandmother kept in the office or if it was one of those “this is not the hill I’m going to die on” marriage compromises that one makes. Still, the plants, which included snake plants and money trees, were as ubiquitous as the number of clients coming to have my grandfather complete their annual rent registrations each year (a service we still provided). My grandmother would even talk to the plants because she said that it helped them grow. Considering one of those snake plants lived for close to 40 years, I think my grandmother was right.

As I sit here in the office on this rather gloomy Thursday in October, surveying the progress that we have made since May with our office rebranding and general reinvigoration, I realize that the business side of things isn’t the only part of F. Juliano Real Estate that has been revitalized. The plants are back, too. A piece of my grandmother is back along with this larger office that once belonged to my grandfather. In fact, I think there are even more plants than before. Yes, there is still a tremendous money tree at the office entrance (sadly it doesn’t grow real money) and a snake plant, but we have added so many more kinds of plant life to the office. The plants are here in honor of my grandmother, without whom my grandfather wouldn’t have survived. Also, I find that having these plants helps to make our clients and customers feel at home when in our office.

If you are curious about where we purchase our plants, we purchase them from Natural Spirit located at 157 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Even though it’s not located in Bath Beach, this is a great store with a marvelous selection of plants and wonderfully kind staff.

Reach out on Instagram or Facebook and let me know if you went to check the store out.

Your Friend,

John

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