Plants are High Maintenance

I never thought I would become a “plant lady”. 

I love nature and have always enjoyed being outside. Being around flowers makes my soul happy. Sure, I even like other people’s plants…and in the past have grown things myself. But, I am a busy person, and to be honest, I struggle to maintain myself sometimes, let alone adding in another thing to keep alive. To me, plants seemed high maintenance and I just didn’t have the time or energy for all that.

You have to water them, but how often? You can’t water them too much, but you can’t leave them for a month…can you???  Also, you have to consider the soil. Does it have enough nutrients? Does it have the right nutrients? Then you have to re-pot them, otherwise their growth is stunted. But the pot can’t be too big either. And then there’s the sunlight. Are they getting enough? Are they getting too much? SO. much. to. consider!!!

My First Plant

Last year, both of my roommates got plants of their own, and I got to see the process in action. It really did seem like a lot of work at first. It also seemed nice to have something to love and care for. At that time, I lived in a room in the basement of our house, and the room itself didn’t have windows. I didn’t see the point of having plants of my own if they would have to be in another part of the house, even if I was a little envious of the weird bond my roommates had with their own plants. But I’m stubborn, and I resisted the urge to go buy a plant for myself. 

My mom took it upon herself and gifted me a lavender plant after we spent the afternoon shopping for plants in the garden section at Lowe’s. I was very proud of my plant and was excited to display it on the front steps of our house. It seemed easy enough to grow, and for a while it was. And then, the pandemic hit and I had more time on my hands. I thought it would be the perfect time to learn to garden.

I didn’t know that much about plants then, other than the basics, and what the card that came with the plant said. It was a good starting point, but I should have done more research in the beginning. While my lavender flourished for a while, there was a period of time where we got quite a bit of rain. My poor plant got over-watered and slowly began to go downhill. This was when I first learned about root rot. I tried to save it, letting it dry out first, and eventually moving it to a smaller pot in hopes that would help. But, the re-potting, along with a move to a new house and more rain eventually did it in. My first attempt at gardening (in a few years at least) was over. 

The Plant Lady Journey

I made the choice not to let the defeat stop me. We were in a new house, and I had a room with a windowsill, and I couldn’t wait to try gardening again. Deciding to try a plant I knew was easier to maintain, I bought a second plant (and third). I chose to buy succulents this time, deciding this was a better “starting” point since they are hardier plants and would be kept indoors, an environment I could more easily control. I was so proud of that first plant, and I would marvel at it often on my windowsill. Watching it live and grow brought me joy!

My journey as a plant lady had begun, and I realized that I actually enjoyed the process, high maintenance and all! What I didn’t know at the time was that the Lord was going to use those little plants to teach me lesson after lesson after lesson, the first being that failing does not mean you are a failure. After all, failing can be one of the best ways to learn!

(For more on failure, check out “How to Cope with Failure”.)

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