How It Started

02/08/2023

It's 9pm as I’m returning home from a taxing, yet fulfilling 13hr shift caring for patients back-to-back in the ever-growing demands from the healthcare field. Body and mind drained. I open my apartment door and am suddenly surrounded by a luscious, diverse greenery. The atmosphere gently soothed from the grow lights' emanating, soft, warm rays like a new dawn's embrace. My spirits lifted in an instilled appreciation of the values of hard work and commitment ingrained in my immigrant roots. The feeling of amazement reminiscing of how it all started.

I started my venture into houseplants as a new college graduate in 2016. In an apartment that was half the size I live in now, I was in space that felt sterile. I believed that houseplants could help me connect to my life-long appreciation of nature. I went into a Lowe's when I adopted my first two houseplants, a Majesty Palm and a climbing Golden Pothos. I placed them next to my window that received a ton of natural light. My pothos thrived, growing faster than the time it took for me to extend the coco coir pole it came with. On the contrary, the Majesty Palm that sat right across of the room gradually declined to its death. Fast forward to today, I am living in a houseplant jungle of 200+ houseplants.

The houseplant community is a place to make mistakes, learn, and grow. It is easy to find oneself feeling defeated, the feeling of having a "brown thumb" after the loss of their first houseplant. Throughout my time in the hobby, I have learned that it's entirely okay to have a "brown thumb." Even the most experienced gardeners have killed plants. I cannot count the number of plants I have lost, even until now. Each loss is an opportunity to learn and grow.

If you are reading this from the perspective of a new houseplant hobbyist or from one that has been discouraged from the losses of one or many plants, I hope this blog post can serve as a push of confidence to try again.

Live to make mistakes, learn, and grow.