When I first became a plant mom, I was very unsure of my ability to keep anything alive. I mean, sometimes I forget to feed myself or meet any of my own needs; now I have to think about the needs of a plant? I was soon enraptured with not only the one that I bought, but others that I spotted in stores or online. That's when one houseplant turned into 38 houseplants!
It hasn't always been easy taking care of so many, but it is something that has taught me several lessons that can be applied to everyday life.1. Patience Is And Always Will Be Important
You can look at any timelapse and it will seem like the greenery grows quite fast. In some cases it can, but most of the time it feels like forever before you notice any real changes.
Being surrounded by different types of houseplants has shown me that you have to relax and stop rushing changes to become immediately present. If you lack in that area, you will start to see yourself feeling frustrated or stressed quite often. As Edmund Burke once said, "Our patience will achieve more than our force."
2. Everything And Everyone Has Different Needs
There are many types of plants out there, and all of them have different needs from each other. Some plants need to be constantly watered, while others prefer to be dried out. Some want to be in the sun all day whereas other plants would rather stay hidden from daylight.
Needs are relative to the subject at hand, meaning that everyone and everything has their own preferences and desires. Just like plants, we as humans have these wants and demands as well. It isn't necessarily physical all the time, either. Our emotional, mental, and spiritual desires are different from one another as well.
3. Growth Is Still Growth, No Matter How Small
Referring back to patience, small growth is still growth.
When I recieved my first plants I was absolutely ecstatic to watch them turn into these big, beautiful statement pieces. However, they weren't growing overnight and I knew that they wouldn't. In about a month, I looked at pictures that I had taken the day that I got them and then, and realized that there was a steady growth, even if it wasn't immediately noticeable.
You can't always see progress as it is happening, but that does not mean that there isn't any.
4. It Is Okay Not To Look Perfect At All times
Plants do not always look beautiful and kept-together. They have awkward stages and days where they just don't look their absolute best; however, plant lovers enjoy them anyways. You do not have to pretend to be polished and 100% all the time. Allow yourself to have days where you know you do not feel or look perfect - people will still enjoy you!
5. Success Looks Different For Everyone
Just as needs are relative to each plant, success is relative to each planter. Maybe your most difficult plant just started to grow a new leaf. Maybe you propagated your first cutting successfully. Maybe you just revived a plant for the seventh time. Those successes are still successes.
Yours may not be the same as someone else's but they are still big achievements, no matter how small. Do not compare the two because each person and each plant are different, meaning that success for one may not be the same success that the other needs, wants, or will help benefit them.
6. Giving Up Can Sometimes Be The Only Option
As much as giving up hurts us on the inside, there are often times where it is the only option left. That is completely okay! I have learned that there are moments where something isn't working out, so you just have to let that thing go and start completely over. in some cases, it is a stubborn plant that you jyst have to let die. Other times, it is a relationship, a job, a resolution, or anything in your life that is just not working and keeps holding you back. Let it go and start over.
7. Beauty Is In Diversity
There are big plants, small plants, green plants, pink plants, prickly plants, textured plants, tall plants, simple plants, patterned plants, stubborn plants. The list is endless and so amazing to think about! Just like humans, plant diversity is something to be truly in awe of. Every single one is so different and unique, even if it's the same kind. Look at your own unique features and learn to love that you aren't like anyone else around, and that is what makes you special.
8. You Never Know What Is Under The Surface
I have seen the biggest bushes stem from the smallest roots, while the tiniest seedlings had roots that stretched farther than imagined. We see these beautiful and bold outsides, but never stop to think about what is underneath, or hidden away. Half of the people that we see or know could seem so put together, thriving and growing beautifully before us, yet they can have so much hidden under the surface that we couldn't fathom. Or maybe there are outgoing, complex people around us, who are open books. No roots because everything is out in the open.
I like to think this goes along with not "judging a book by its cover." You never know what kind of roots a plant or a person is hiding.
9. Hard Work Will Pay Off
GiphyLastly, never feel discouraged if something is taking longer than you thought or planned it to. Great things come with time and all of the work that you are putting in will come together in the end; and you will see the magnitude of all the time and energy spent. You've got this!
When I became a plant mom, I never realized where it would take me. Plants have taught me a lot of valuable lessons, most of which, I will carry with me for years to come.
