Time to Grow

I know, I know, it's not spring yet. That's not officially until March 19th. But luckily, houseplants are the sort of plants you can grow all year round, not just when it’s sunny and warm outside. And I might argue that they’re most important when it’s NOT sunny and warm.  In winter, when nature seems less friendly, and when everything outside is gray and brown (or if you’re lucky and you get snow in winter, maybe white for a while, and then gray and brown when the snow gets dirty and melts into slush) it's more and more important to make your house a cozy refuge, a fortress of joy and contentment where you can work, play, rest, and live your life well.

Having something green and growing in your house is quite comforting when it starts to feel as if nothing outside will ever be green and growing again. When you feel like you have become one with the couch as you burrow under a blanket and glare sourly at the gray sullen skies, houseplants can poke their little green leaves into your field of vision and remind you that if they can keep growing along slowly but surely, so can you. 

Houseplants don’t ask for much (assuming you don’t go out and buy yourself one of the pickiest plants there is). Appropriate amounts of sunlight and water work miracles. I’m just starting out on my green-thumb-developing journey, but I’ve learned a few things so far: First, make sure your pot has drainage holes. Funny how something that simple can make the difference between a happy healthy plant and a dying one. Also, I learned to not be afraid of getting my hands dirty, and to just feel the soil to see if a plant needs water. I have a weekly watering day, but to try to get to know my plants’ needs a little better, I've been poking a finger in the soil to see if it's still damp - in which case I might hold off on watering for a bit - or if its bone dry an inch down - in which case I might need to be giving it a bit more moisture.

Sometimes my plants still decide to flop over and look sad. And the best (and only) solution I've come up with is to move them to a different spot. Maybe they are getting too much sun. Maybe not enough. I'm not enough of a plant guru to know. Some windows in my home are facing the “correct” direction, but the sunlight might get blocked by nearby buildings or trees. Maybe there's a draft I'm not aware of. So I just move them. And then promptly forget about them for a week. But when I come by on watering day I remember them again and can take a look to see if they're doing better in their new home. 

I think it's healthy for people to have something to take care of - and something about the simple but very real needs of a plant help us to realize how simple but essential our own needs are. As it’s been said: You’re basically a house plant with more complicated emotions. 

Comic by poorlydrawnlines

Have you gotten sun lately? It can definitely be harder to come by in the winter, but see if you can convince yourself to bundle up and take a quick walk around the block. Or at least sit near a window. Or take a cue from some plants that thrive in artificially lit offices, and just turn on more lights in your house if it's an overcast day. Have you hydrated? Just because you're not outside landscaping your front yard in the blazing August sun, or spending the day sweating at the beach doesn't mean that your body suddenly stopped needing water.

And if you’ve taken care of both of those things, but still feel a bit droopy, try different lighting, so to speak. Shake up your daily routine. If you work from home, move your desk to a different room. Try a new workout. Have a tea party picnic on the floor with your kids.

Take care of yourself, and don’t forget that the simple, usually overlooked things are often the most important.