How'd it All Start, You Ask?

Hello again. Welcome back to my monologue of tips and transgressions.

I wasn’t always a plant mom. Though I’ve always loved the outdoors and the earth’s many green crawlers. Like many, I began my collection with various succulents. They died. All of them. Consistently.

My sophomore year I dropped my sorority halfway through the year, subsequently moved out of the house and set up shop with four random seniors in a yellow bungalow perched on Hillsborough Street, Chapel Hill, NC. Shout out to Facebook for helping me scramble that together. My roommates were good friends, though they never really hung out together or chilled in the house, so it was a slightly lonely arrangement. Cue the little succulents.

I was given this succulent, Crassula ovata - commonly known as a Jade plant, from my mom this year. This plant is the token succulent I've yet to kill.

At that time, I also started a job at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens as a horticulture therapy assistant. This job was a dream. My boss, Sally, was amazing and the work I did was fulfilling and quickly spurred my fascination with plants. Sally and I assisted in the rehabilitation process for a woman with physical and mental incapacities through weekly gardening and plant-inspired arts and crafts. This was the first time I saw the restorative power of something as simple as rosemary. There’s something calming about running your hands through the dirt, pocketing row after row of herbs and arranging flower petals into a picture.

This work-study opportunity only lasted a semester, but by the time it ended I was hooked. I’d given up on succulents and moved on to houseplants. Everyone says succulents are easy to keep alive. I beg to differ. They’re finicky, boring and borderline diabolical. I mean seriously, what is the right amount of water? Too much and their petals drop at the touch. Too little and they shrivel up like raisins. For these reasons and more, they just weren’t for me. So, here's my first piece of advice: if you can’t keep succulents alive don’t sweat it. They’re surprisingly tricky! Move on to bigger and better plants. You’ll be surprised at how they’ll flourish.

Another one of my jade plants. Accompanied by some flowers we like to keep in the house. They last for weeks and only cost $3.99 from Trader Joe's. 10/10 would advise.