There has been a lot of change in my life recently. This year, I have moved out of home to the city, lived in two different share houses, worked multiple jobs and continued studying full time. It has been a bit of a ride to get somewhere I’m ultimately very proud of and determined to continue improving for myself.
I did not think much of spending time gardening when I lived with my parents, but I have always had some odd hobbies growing up. I have grown to value how important it is to busy yourself in something new, now I live out of the family home.
When I first moved into a share house, I was ecstatic by the idea of growing and maintaining my own vegetable and herb garden. After an embarrassing cycle of planning, exciting myself about the plants and then ultimately neglecting and killing them, I decided growing vegetables was really not my thing. However, smaller, indoor plants may be. As soon as I had my own balcony to work with earlier this year, I began planning and selecting my new plants in earnest.
Earnest, here, does not mean I own a crowded space lush with foliage by any means. I now have six (relatively) healthy plants, where the majority of these spend their time in my bedroom or bathroom.
It’s easy to be ambitious and set unrealistic expectations for yourself when you are able to first start doing things completely independently. At the moment, I’m excited to keep these small plants alive in my own space.
It is now routine for me to inspect my plants often, as I move them to my balcony a few times a week to enjoy more light. My Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum Aureum) is a great example of a plant which needs little care but thrives on attention. I keep it in my bathroom, a space with very low light. It is rooted in water, which means it requires different care to potted plants, and has gorgeous heart-shaped leaves that reach over my bathroom sink.
After spending a long time fixated on my screen this week, applying for as many jobs as I can manage while meeting assignment tasks, an intimidatingly blank Word Document faced me this morning. An ever-persistent cursor blinked at me in place of the hundreds of words I was expecting myself to write. I closed my eyes.
I took a break to move my plants to the balcony. I noticed as I was checking my Devil’s Ivy that there was a new shoot showing off the end of one of the stems, the first new growth since I bought it months ago. I was knocked over with a weird kind of excitement.
Perhaps my measures are slightly skewed, but it’s nice to take those smaller gains as they come. I've done something right by myself, at least! I’m going to make a more in-depth post about this beautiful plant very soon, but in the meantime I'd love if you could follow me on Instagram or Facebook, where I’ll be sure to let you know of any new shoots.
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