When I married Matthew over 10 years ago, I had a general admiration for plants. I was born and raised in the southern part of Nigeria that is very tropical so I was around lots of foliage, but I never particularly paid any attention to them. My mom had indoor plants, but I was more fascinated with flowering outdoor plants and we had a garden full of those.
So when Matthew came into my world, and he started bringing plants indoors, I wasn’t particularly interested in caring for them. I loved them, I particularly loved a great planter that complimented our often contemporary interiors, but the care was always Matthew’s job. Fast forward eight years or so and we’re deep in owning a plant shop, greenhouses, and Matthew asks me to take over the plants in our house I thought he was trying to start a fight. On top of ALL THE THINGS I DO, now I’m supposed make sure these household design elements survive too? I already have children, and we’re adding more things to keep alive. Yay me!
But, in time, I started to care for them, water them, wipe them down, treat them when they got pests, cut them back, and you can guess what happened next. I started to love this new job. For one, they don’t ask me 5,327 questions. I started collecting Sansevieria, and they forgive me when I forget to water them. They don’t complain about anything. All of a sudden, these weren’t our plants anymore, they were MY plants. My husband would get some new plants and I would immediately claim them as mine.
We own a plant shop, and we have greenhouses, but my Sunday routine is my quiet reflective time and not a chore whatsoever. My plants truly make me happy and bring so much life and joy to our home. I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as Matthew in care, propagating, names, varieties, and overall plant guru-ness, but this novice girl has learned how to nourish and keep a wide selection of plants alive and thriving. Okay, let’s be real, my Calatheas are never happy, but that’s a Calathea problem not mine.
You might be new to the plant journey. What was your first plant? What plant gave you the confidence that you could do it and which one is your trouble child? Or, what plant made you feel like you do not have a green thumb? Let’s get the truth out here and clear it up.