gm fellow plant lovers and fortunate owners of actual gardens!
As some of you may know from previous posts, I live downtown, in brick city, so it's slightly more difficult - albeit not impossible - to have a garden. Still, I think I get a lot of joy from growing an caring for my apartment plants and got to thinking how therapeutic it is.
It's almost like a form of meditation.
The first thing I do when I wake up bright and early is contemplate this beauty. It's an absolute marvel and only really lasts a few minutes.
After that, I look around the room at my plants. I have mostly Monstera Deliciosas in my bedroom.
And a corn plant (DRACAENA FRAGRANS also sometimes referred to as trunk of Brazil) that @pamarias and I repotted around this time last year.
So I like to look inspect the leaves and see if there are any mealy bugs, I check to see if they have enough water and the right amount of sunlight.
When I muster enough energy to go downstairs, I do the same thing.
I have a Red Emerald Philodendron (Philodendron Erubescens), some more Monsteras and a few Dieffenbachia (dumb cane) that I've been propagating lately.
I think I've had them in two terrible conditions. The first few had way too much sunlight and where not growing healthy leaves. They were growing crunchy leaves and a lot of them turned yellow quite quickly.
So I decided to cut a bunch of stalks and put them in water in different amounts of indirect sunlight.
Sure enough, my Dieffenbachias started growing new leaves.
And I even got a little area of the studio where they seem to be happy. This is where I'm growing them now
They still have some of the older crunchy leaves, but the new ones are coming out way healthier.
The other problem I had with my Dieffenbachias is that some were spending too much time in the shade. Again, the weren't growing and only sprouting tiny leaves.
Here's another beautiful plant that wasn't getting enough sunlight. It's my Colocasia esculenta or Black Magic.
She was very close to dying not too long ago until I made one last effort to put her in a place with more sunlight and added more water. Some new tiny leaves started sprouting and most recently this bigger leaf came out. I think she's going to make it.
I also like to listen to music when I'm tending to my plant babies. I feel present in the moment, I'm concentrated in what I'm doing and I'm connecting with nature. And when I'm done, I'm in a good mood that sets the tone for the rest of my day.
This got me thinking that by tending to my garden, I'm also tending to the garden in my mind. I feel where my body is in space. I feel where my body connects with the plants, and the surface it rests on. I also bring awareness to my breath.
I recognize thoughts that are giving me stress, but I don't let them take over. I lift them from my heart just as I snip dead leaves and weeds from my garden.
I brush off the pain in my mind and heart just like I brush off the soil from my hands.
I think about the beautiful things that I would like to cultivate in my life.
I hold these thoughts the way I might hold seeds in my hand, and I let my intentions seep into them.
I breathe deeply and I'm present with my thoughts.
I imagine placing those seeds in the soil and preparing them to grow.
I water my seeds and I'm present with any feelings that might arise.
After I do this, I go about my day feeling energized, just as I am now.
So could this be a form of meditation? I say yes.
All images in this post are my own.