The Perks of Being a (Wall) Flower Mom
I’ve always been more of an old Southern woman than a teenager; I find genuine pleasure in crocheting, I say “bless his/her heart” at least twice a day, and I have to do that weird back and forth motion with my phone so I can read it because of my astigmatism. Lately, though, I’ve ascended to a new level of being an old lady and have taken on gardening, and honestly I’ve never regretted anything LESS.
I started out at Easter, when my sweet mother sent me a care package including tons of my favorite candy and a tiny kit for growing forget-me-nots, which included potting soil, a cute ceramic pot, and a packet of seeds. Purely for the fun of it, I planted the weird spiky little seeds, and lo and behold, a few days later a little sprout had stuck its head out of the earth. After a week I had a tiny little plant with lovely waxy leaves, and now I’ve got a little cluster of sprouts ready for repotting.
Since I saw that first little green leaf poking through the soil, I’ve become enamored with gardening. I’m now a mother to that same little pot of forget-me-nots, a quickly-growing zucchini, and a tillandsia (a.k.a. air plant) which rolls freely across my windowsill without need for soil, and only asks that I soak it in water from time to time.
My time at college has been rather tough. I’ve gained and lost friends, I’ve suffered personal struggle and several quarter-life crises, I’ve felt the stress and aggravation that every college student feels at one point or another. But at the end of the day, no matter what happens, I return home to my apartment and water (and admittedly talk to) the little green plants on the balcony that I’ve raised. No matter what I make on that essay, I can come home and see these little marvels that I raised myself and managed to help flourish.
Being a parent to a plant, whether you grow it from a seed or raise it from a plant you buy from a nursery, is an unbelievably rewarding experience. Not only are you bringing something to life that is beautiful and fascinating, you’re helping the environment by creating more flora to produce oxygen! If you grow a fruit- or vegetable-producing plant or herb, you’re providing yourself or other with fresh, locally grown ingredients for healthy meals with no genetically modified organisms.
As a proud plant mom, I can’t help but encourage my fellow college students to raise their own plants, mostly because it’s a fun and stress-relieving experience, but also because my zucchini has been begging for a playdate.