Friday, February 1, 2013

365 Inspirations—32: House Plants

Plant in Yoon's Yoga Bliss lobby
“We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.” —Desmond Tutu

When it's dark and dreary outside, like it often is this time of year in Seattle, house plants can do wonders for one's mood. I don't have many house plants, but the ones I have make me so happy. I tend to select succulents. I think I was supposed to live in the desert because I gravitate towards all desert-type plants. That, or the tropics, as I am a big fan of palms and my favorite flower is plumeria.

I don't think I have a green thumb, but succulents and cacti are really hard to destroy. They seem to live through anything. It's one thing to live and quite another to thrive. My husband was once given a gift certificate to buy plants when he first opened his yoga studio. He bought three plants and I can't remember the names of any of them.

The one in the picture was so tiny when he bought it. I thought, how is that things going to survive being locked up in a yoga studio? But the dear plant proved us wrong! It looks like something that belongs in the Amazon. It's absolutely HUGE now and just keeps growing. My husband does not give it any fertilizer or anything. He waters it every now and then.

Whenever I go to yoga class and see this huge plant in the lobby of my huband's bright, sunny yoga studio, I suddenly feel happy and full of energy. It's "the little plant that could" to me. I never in my wildest imagination thought it would grow this much.

It's inspiring to me that it's thriving and so strong now. Some of the yoga students say it's from all the good energy in the studio. Often times, after a yoga class, I notice that all of our effort moving our bodies has actually fogged up the windows. This plant is getting all of that nice oxygen and we are producing it!

Plants that grow and thrive remind me that anyone of us can do the same despite any current situation we may be facing that seems trying or difficult. House plants add life to an otherwise "dead" winter where things are not growing or in bloom. House plants are second to pets. They are living entities that also need care and love, just like we do.

Do you have any house plants? What kinds do you have? Are they thriving? Do they make you happy?

8 comments:

  1. I have only one plant in my house - it's a plant that my late papaw had before I did. I haev kept it alive ever since then...as a part of me feels that he is still alive with that plant. Is that wierd?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, that is not weird! I think that is beautiful ^_^!

      Delete
  2. I used to have house plants, but now we have cats, and they tend to want to chew on things like plants! Some of them are poisonous to cats, so it's easier not to have any. I enjoyed tending them when I had them. But I enjoy tending to the cats more! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love cats too. We housesit regularly for four cats. We love it. We don't have cats because we like to travel too much and would need to find someone to take care of them. I grew up with cats ^_^!

      Delete
  3. I have TONS of plants in my house and outside! I NEED plants. I have tons of aloe plants in mason jars around my studio, I have an ivy which I've kept alive for about 9 years, I always have fresh cut flowers, I have rooted gardenias in an old medicine jar in my bathroom. I have mint, basil, and rosemary on my front stoop, along with a HUGE aloe plant. I suggest everyone have as many as possible.

    And as a tangent, the only plants I've ever managed to kill have been succulents. :/ I want so badly to keep them alive!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amanda,

      So lovely that you have so many plants to keep your place lively! I wish I had more. For some reason my succulents are the only ones that have lived the longest!

      Delete
  4. When I was in the process of moving to France, I gave away all my houseplants. At one point, I also left my dog, Lucie, with a friend in France and came back to my house in Iowa to pack up some things. It hit me like a brick...no plants, no dog. I was the only living, breathing thing in my house. Even though the house was in the country surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans and shaded by immense old oak trees, my personal space was devoid of any life but me! It was a very odd sensation. And not one I could live with permanently!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it's so strange to live in a house without anything in it! Perhaps plants and pets and family are what keep us living! I only have plants—no pets or children ^_^! Who knows, maybe that will change someday!

      Delete