Gardens and Green Thumbs

I have never had a green thumb. For the longest time the running joke in my family was that I had a black thumb. Even if I wanted to keep simple house plants alive they’d be deceased within the week. So, you can imagine my positive outlook when I realized that gardening was next on my list of hobbies to try. Before the summer season started a co-worker of mine gave me three plants and said, “It’s impossible to kill them. They will be great for you to learn with.” Of course while she’s encouraging me I’m nodding and smiling but I’m thinking, if only you knew. So I take them home and water them here and there and after a few days they start to wilt. I forgot to put them in the sun. So I rush them outside to give them sunlight, and forget them out there. OF COURSE a frost comes in the middle of spring and turns my plants into spinach. Not the beautiful leafy spinach but the yucky kind, you know, the kind that comes in a can. I remember that I left them outside after two or five days of over exposure to the inclement weather. I rush outside only to find my plants with frostbite. They had flat lined and there was NO bringing them back.

This, is my gardening life in a nut shell. This is what I was working with. So when I tell you my progress please keep in mind where I started. After a couple of months to mourn the life and death of my beloved six day plants, I started to consider the prospect of new plants. This time I did research. I went to Wal-Mart and chose plants that could remain outside no matter how hot the summer sun would get or how much rain we would receive. I settled with some beautiful flowers that said in the instructions 6 plus hours of sunlight and water daily. No problem. I leave them in their pots and put them in my front lawn. At first I watered them every day then slowly but surely life happened and I didn’t water them. When they started to shrivel up like prune-y water hands I watered them, held my breath, and exhaled once I saw them go back to normal after one day. At one point ants tried to make a home in my plant and one of them started to die. I bought this ant poison you can put right in your garden and it made the ants go away. One of my plants still has yellow parts in it but I feel like that’s okay since it still blooms. It has been an ordeal but despite the odds it’s been two months and my baby plants are still alive and look healthyish. I feel pretty good about this and despite the soaked work pants, scary moments of uncertainty, and self-doubt I have made it. I even had a lot of fun with it.

The Poopy Parts:

1.      1.  It took me a while to understand how much water to give a plant and how often to water them.

2.      2.  Some times my plants would turn brown and pieces would die even when I did everything I was          supposed to.

3.      3.  It is a daily, intricate hobby.

Taking care of plants is an art form of its own. It took a lot of research, trial and error, and even then my prissy plants still weren’t 100% healthy and happy. The watering of the plant took the most time and effort. I felt really bad when parts of my plant would fall off but I read that some plants do this instantly so new growth can make its way through. PS: my plant is an annual flower which means despite all my work, they will die anyways.

The Awesome Sauce Parts:

1.     1.   I felt like every good thing that happened for my plants was a huge reward and accomplishment.

2.     2.   I loved watching my plant grow new blooms.

3.     3.   I became attached to my little plants just like a family pet.

I talked to my plants daily. I fell in love with taking care of them and even started to take their growth personally. Every new bloom and beautiful full open flower made me feel overjoyed with happiness. Being a gardener isn’t for the faint of heart. I’m not going to say that next summer I’m going to have a vegetable garden but I will tell you that having a couple of plants will definitely be on my to-do list for the next spring. Now that I have the hang of it I feel like I could take on a third plant. If you have garden or tips on how to start a small planting experience, please write one below. Until next time, good luck with your adventures!