The Gifting of a House Plant

In the City of the Elements, there are those who trust the government and their choices to balance all society with strict rules and brutal enforcement.
Others do not.  Those who don't, they would never own a house plant.  There is a kind of magic in this land few are born with.  A sort of forbidden magic, unless of course it is turned over to the government.  Those who possess it are known as Tree Whispers.  They are those who can speak with plants.
Plants are quite a chatty bunch they have a lot to say.  Plants love to talk with one another as well as anyone who will listen.  You won't believe the amount of gossip you might catch if you can speak with the trees. You would also be surprised how many convictions are made based off what a plant has witnessed done or said.
The only ones who can speak with trees are those who work for the government or those who are criminals because they don't.
and so, allowing a house plant into your home, that is a sign you have nothing to hide from the government.  If you were to move into a neighborhood in the Kingdom of the Elements, and you were gifted a house plant, be careful what your neighbors expect you to do with it.  A houseplant in the front window, open support for the government, a house plant just in a room, you don't mind who spies and what those around you think.  No house plant, nobody knows what you say behind closed doors.
Some neighborhoods have a houseplant in each window, others none at all.  Be careful where you live.  Both are dangerous.
Finally, don't forget to be kind to plants around you, they have been known to lie for petty reasons.