The Perks of Being a (Wall) Flower Mom

By Peyton Carper on May 6, 2016

Image via theimn.com

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.

Original photo by Peyton Carper

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.

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