Aloe plants (Morningside Heights/UWS)

What you see in the photo are four aloe vera plants with an inspiring will to live. Take one or take all. I will give you the plant(s) without a pot or soil -- you will need to take care of that. In my experience, they can live out of the soil even for a few days.

A year ago, there were six plants in this little pot. They were half-dead, two or three inches tall, and pale-to-brown in color, but they'd survived some major challenges. As a new indoor gardner, I was both awed by their staying power, and interested in seeing if I could save them. They stabilized, then when spring came, they doubled and tripled in size.

Two of them have been put in their own pots and thriving and growing into their new, larger space. I don't want more, but don't have the heart to throw out the rest. They worked so hard to be here.

They need fast-draining soil, and only need watering when the soil is completely dry. I've been giving them a little shot of succulent fertilizer every month or two, but I don't believe that's necessary. Anyway, there are a gazillion websites and YouTube videos on the care of aloe veras.

I'm near Broadway and 110th Street in Manhattan, easily reached by train or bus.