Plant Parenthood 101

Welcome to the first edition of Green Wisdom Fridays, where we explore life lessons inspired by our leafy friends. Every Friday, I’ll share stories from the garden and life, digging into themes like patience, resilience, and personal growth. Plants have a lot to teach us, and hopefully, these posts can help you grow a little, too. So, let’s kick off this week’s theme: PATIENCE Image Credit: VectorPortal The Patience Problem: The Age of Instant Gratification We live in a world that demands quick results. Need something? You can have it delivered by tomorrow. Want to be entertained? There’s endless content at your fingertips. But not everything in life can or should be instant. Some things, like personal growth or caring for a plant, take time and patience—two things that seem to be in short supply these days. Take my Bird of Paradise plant, for example. 2 years ago I got her in a FB group sale for $25. Her size and age can make them cost over $100. She stands at a glorious 6 ½ feet tall...

 Plant Parenthood 101: How Not to Kill Your Plant So, you’ve decided to become a plant parent. Congrats!  Or, if you’re like me, maybe you just stumbled into the world of houseplants while trying to survive the great indoors during 2020. Either way, welcome. Let’s make sure you don’t, you know, accidentally murder your new green friend. The Humble Beginnings of a (Now Obsessed) Plant Parent My journey started with good intentions and a total lack of knowledge—like when I tried to bring Miami vibes to my backyard with a palm tree. Turns out, not all palm trees are ready for the wild outdoors of Elkhart. Oops. That poor palm was supposed to be an indoor plant, but I didn’t know! So after watching my "Miami dream" slowly roast in the Indiana sun, I did what any plant parent would do—I dragged it inside and hoped for a miracle. My TikTok with him   Lesson One: Not All Plants Love the Sun (And Some Really Don’t) The whole lighting situation confused me. “Low light? High l...