Have you ever seen Giulia agree to water one office ficus and end up with an entire corporate nursery? On Monday, she was working almost alone in the office and wanted to finish the quarterly report in peace. Nearby sat Marta, her colleague from the finance department, who was leaving on vacation and asked her to top up the ficus by the window once a week. Giulia agreed because it sounded easier than discussing a budget with twelve people. She set a reminder for Friday and went back to her spreadsheet.

The next morning, Marta thanked Giulia in the shared chat, adding that “the plants are in safe hands now.” While Giulia was typing “only until Friday,” a colleague from sales placed a cactus beside the ficus with a note saying, “two spoonfuls every Wednesday.” Then came an orchid, a pot of basil, and a jar containing an avocado pit. Their owners worked from home, so they could not collect them, but they eagerly sent Giulia instructions, emojis, and photos of the pots in better days. By lunch, her desk had disappeared. The report was under a saucer.

Giulia tried to return the pots through the calendar by creating a meeting called “Collect Your Plant.” Because it said “meeting,” three colleagues joined online, and because it said “plant,” four more brought in pots the day before the meeting so they would not be late. The office coordinator found a trolley in the supply closet and left it nearby because the plants were blocking the aisle. Giulia arranged the pots on two levels, labeled each one, and sent their owners a return schedule. They replied with preferences about sunlight, leaf rotation, and music without bass.

On Friday, Giulia stopped arguing with the size of the favor. She put a jug, measuring spoon, and towel on the trolley, then renamed the calendar event “Plant Round — Deliver by Thursday.” Every week, she now rolled the trolley to the kitchenette, watered everything over the sink, and removed dry leaves along the way. Owners received a short message only when their plant genuinely needed something. Giulia finished her report beside the ficus, which had returned to her desk after watering and officially claimed its edge.