Five Reasons Why I Became a Plant Lady

 If you've been on social media at all in the past seven months, you've probably seen one or multiple of your followers making countless posts about their plant babies. It's me- I'm that follower. I have always loved plants, but during quarantine something sparked in me that was just like "buy every plant you see," and I have no regrets.

I'm sure a lot of people share that same sentiment. I've connected with so many people since quarantine started purely on the basis that we've fallen in love with taking care of plants and watching them grow.

 

So with that, I wanted to share with you guys the five reasons I became a plant lady.

1. I needed something mindless to focus on

    When the pandemic hit, I was left with a crazy amount of downtime that I was unfamiliar with. Even with having to wrap up a semester online and then continue on to take summer courses online, I just was not as occupied as I was used to being. That honestly triggered quite a bit of anxiety in me because I was so used to being held to a specific standard of productivity when it came to attending classes in person and working throughout the week., and then suddenly I didn't have any of that. So, taking care of my plants and learning about them gave me something to focus on. It gave me something to do that wasn't predicated upon being productive for anyone else, and I feel like I really needed that. I set aside time to water and maintain my plants, to document their growth and their conditions, and just to learn about them. It doesn't feel like work at all, and it gives me something to pour my attention into when I'm feeling anxious or down.

2. It is teaching me patience  

    I'm going to be real here- I am not known for being the most patient person. That has always been something I have needed to work on because I am such an "if I want it, I want it now" type of person. i think a lot of that stems from needing to be in control, but that's a conversation for another time y'all. What I'm getting at here is that you can't rush plants. You have to continuously nurture them and work with them to see growth and to see progress. There isn't really a shortcut or any way you can force plants to perform on your time or your dime, and that has been a really important lesson for me. I actually get so excited being able to see and take not of each of my plants' gradual progress, and pre-plant lady me probably would have been annoyed by how slow those things move.

3. It helps build a good routine 

    Before Covid hit, I was very much stuck in a pretty consistent routine. I have always felt like I function the best when I have a routine to adhere to. So when Covid struck and the world got flipped upside down, my routine vanished. I was kind of scrambling to figure out how to stay on top of my schoolwork and other priorities because I was doing everything in a different setting and in a totally different way, and it was just driving me nuts. Setting up a routine for watering, rotating for optimal lighting, pruning and all of the other care that goes into taking care of plants gave me some balance. It was like having set days and times to do those things gave me the start I needed to be able to structure the rest of my routine. This was especially helpful for me when I moved into my apartment a couple of months ago, because again, a different environment to adjust to and to structure my routine around. Sprinkling my plant care and maintenance into my routine and structuring the rest of my work and priorities around it has brought me a lot of peace.

4. The air in my space feels so much cleaner

    I made it a priority to make sure that I included some air purifying plants in my mini jungle, especially with the issue of a respiratory disease hanging over our heads. The air purifying plants I currently have are snake plant (my first baby), fiddle leaf fig tree, zz plant, and a variegated rubber plant is on the way to me. These plants are all known for being great air purifiers, and I didn't really buy it at first, but I can seriously tell the difference in the air in my space. I definitely recommend snake plants to anyone looking for air purification but also looking for something low maintenance and simple to care for.

5. I just like them. I like them a lot

    I guess this reason is kind of obvious, but I feel like it's important. I genuinely love all of my plants- even the ones who are finicky and high maintenance, though they can be a major headache sometimes. They're all so beautiful and watching them change and grow has given me something to find joy in and really look forward to. Nurturing plants can be so simple, but it's honestly so rewarding and I feel like that's why I have to talk myself out of buying a new one every week. I even spend time learning about new plants and interacting with people who share things about their little jungles, so it's like being a part of a little community of plant folks too. I'm looking forward to the day when I have a bigger space to fill with plants and just be surrounded by them. They truly liven up a space and add so much to your daily life that you don't even expect when you buy your first plant. I very much so sound like a true "plant lady," but it's cool.  

If you're not a plant parent and you've been thinking about getting into it, I say go for it! I was a little nervous at first so I started out with low maintenance plants, and then my hoard just grew from there. Caring for my plants has honestly been one of the most rewarding things I've taken on recently, and even though I sound absolutely nuts talking to my plants alone in my room sometimes, I love every minute of it.