Hello everyone and welcome back to the Thoughts that Bind! Today we’re talking about picking up a new hobby—tending to houseplants! Because it’s something that can improve your life in perhaps surprising ways.
I finally caught up
Last spring, for the first time in my life, I felt quite different than normal. I’m not quite sure where it came from or why it happened, but suddenly one day, I wanted plants. No, I had never wanted them before or been able to take care of them in the past. But I was filled with a strong desire to have plants in the house.
I immediately set about learning about different kinds of plants. I needed to start off with “easy” ones because I had killed all the other plants I had in the past and was quite uncertain that I would be able to keep any plant alive, but for some reason, the idea just stuck with me. Like the infatuation with a new dream. These days, I still have plants in my home, which I do not kill (for the most part). And I’m quite happy with past me for taking an interest in plants because having them has improved my life.
It cheers you up
In a very real and direct way, having plants in your space can simply make you feel happier, peppier. They add a nice, decorative touch to any room and send the subconscious message that your space is brimming with life.
This in turn, impresses your conscious and subconscious mind that you too, are brimming with life. You feel more vital and alive, which is important in the colder months when you may not be going outside very often. You can feel in touch with nature (and a part of it) right from the comfort of your own home.
It helps with mindfulness
One thing I noticed about plants is that caring for multiple different ones helps you to stay connected to the present moment. When I first thought of caring for multiple plants, it seemed quite overwhelming. I thought to myself, “how am I going to remember all of their distinct watering schedules?” Well, let me tell you, I don’t. I thought I would need a spreadsheet or something, to plan out when to water and fertilize and rotate the position of each plant to keep them alive. But, thankfully I was wrong.
Actually, the answer was looking me right in the face. It’s mindfulness, it’s presence. You see, my memory isn’t terrible. But I am simply not going to remember when to do one thing or another, I don’t have a good sense of internal waiting/time.
Plants are also living things, although they don’t communicate like animals or humans do. Instead, what you want to do is learn what kind of conditions they like to live in. What kind of soil do they like? How much sun do they need? And how much moisture in the soil is ideal for them? Are there any specific problems this plant is prone to? And you catalogue all these needs and likes or dislikes on an individual basis, sort of like you would for a person or a pet. Then, instead of relying on a “schedule”, you stay attuned to the plant. You check in on them for signals that something is awry.
For instance, instead of following a watering schedule, I feel the soil. I check the leaves to see if they’re yellowing or drooping. Being living things, they sport signs of what is wrong with them, and based on what is happening in the moment, you can correct your course of action. This gets you much more used to acting within the moment and focusing as such.
You get in touch with your nurturing side
I personally don’t have any pets or children. And having something to take care of like a plant has opened up a slightly different side to me. No, it’s not the same as taking care of a child or a pet—the ramifications for keeping a plant alive are not nearly the same and you do not have to worry about their safety. But there is a sense of nurturing required to care for a plant that I had never considered before. Especially if you catalogue their needs and preferences as I mentioned earlier.
You develop a little bit of a relationship with each plant. You may even find yourself referring to it with personal pronouns like “he” or “she”, or even naming it. You may be someone who talks to their plants as if they were people—which, by the way has been studied and has shown to be beneficial, perhaps solely because of the extra CO2 produced talking to the plant, but we are still unsure if it goes beyond that.
At any rate, you find yourself becoming emotionally attached to plants in a way that may seem quirky, but is quite pleasant and relaxing. Having a living thing depend on you for survival helps your self-esteem as a nurturer, and you feel quite accomplished as you notice your plants grow.
Plants clean your air!
Now having plants is obviously good for your mental and emotional health. But it also can be good for your physical health! Another great thing about having houseplants is that they improve the air quality inside your home. As they absorb the carbon dioxide you and your family breathe out, they also create more oxygen. That is already great on a base level, but there are specific plants that have been shown to be even better than your average plant at cleansing and purifying the air in your home, such as the snake plant. Luckily, snake plants are also easier to care for, which makes them quite ideal for beginners.
I have felt this effect firsthand in my own home. Since adding in plants, I have found that I breathe easier. But even before I had plants of my own, I had a friend who had many plants in her bedroom when we were younger. And I found myself marveling on how good it felt in there. I wasn’t sure how to describe it at the time, but now I know. It was the air quality. That “fresh air” that you’re used to going outside for? Well, you can start to make that inside!
Also, if you get a flowering plant, when you have flowers, it can also improve your air in the sense that it adds a pleasant scent. That can be quite desirable as well!
Grow your own food
Another way that having plants can help your health is if you grow some edible plants. But you don’t have to have a full outside garden space to get into the fun of eating food you grew yourself.
Many beginners find the easiest way to start growing their own food is to make a window box herb garden (or to grow herbs in general). Herbs don’t take very long to grow compared to other foods, and in general don’t need that much maintenance. Once they’ve grown, you simply chop them and eat them, or in some cases, make some tea. Then you can start over.
If you’d like to branch out from herbs, check out this post from gardening know-how.com on other options for edible plants you can grow indoors. Not only does growing your own food help you to get vegetables when you can’t get to the store, there’s a quite distinct feeling that comes from eating something that you grew yourself. You feel just a little more thankful for your food, and just a little more proud of yourself.
Advice for beginners
As I mentioned earlier, until last spring, I was a complete and total beginner with plants. I had successfully kept and killed two plants before, and past “plants need water”, I knew nothing about how to keep them alive. If this is you, there’s no shame in that.
If these benefits sound good to you and you can imagine your space with a couple of plants in it, here’s how to get started:
Try picking just one
If you’re just jumping into the wide world of houseplants, the list can seem inexhaustible (and daunting). Instead of getting all excited and going all in, try starting off with just one plant.
Get to know this plant, as I suggested before. Does it like a lot of sun, or maybe not so much? How damp of soil does it thrive in? What are the mistakes people generally make with it? If you simply can’t help yourself and need to get more than one plant, see the next point.
Choose easy plants
So if you’ve mastered one plant or want to try a few, try to get plants that are lower maintenance. If you forget to water your plants, buy ones that don’t need to be watered very often. There are also certain plants that can live in lower-light surroundings which can be good for homes that don’t have many windows.
Basically, you’re going to want to consider what your issues with plants are and correct for them by choosing plants that align with those conditions you are prone to. To get some ideas, check out this list of the 30 easiest houseplants by housebeautiful.com
Thank you for tuning into the conversation about houseplants today, and thank you for reading my thoughts. If you have any tips on how to get started on houseplants (or how to keep them alive once you have them), leave them in the comments below so we can all learn from each other! And if you like what you’ve read today, consider subscribing to the blog for email alerts when new posts are available. Here we talk about health, wellness, and all kinds of perspectives and habits that can help lead you to a better life.
