My Leafy Love Affair
words Revathie Dhanabalan
Here’s a fun fact (that I believe a lot of people can relate to) – I can’t seem to stop buying houseplants. It all started with a small cactus on my bookshelf, which escalated to a venus flytrap (don’t ask me why) and blew up to binge shopping for bamboo, aloe vera and a whole lot of succulents. Just to reiterate, I don’t quite garden, I buy plants and looking after those green babies have become a vital aspect for me to maintain my mental wellbeing.
And as far as the Millennial stereotype goes, yes, I do fit right in. Here’s what I found (and I thought I would do a little PSA) and if you don’t already know (but you should) exposure to plants and green space is beneficial to one’s mental and physical health.
Disclaimer: please ask for help and read up before you go down this path to prevent future heartbreaks.
Diving into the future of green plants seemed like the most appropriate thing for me to take on during Circuit Breaker. It was a relatively cheap endeavour and my parents were (honestly) quite happy to help out. And thanks to Covid-19, this hobby (if I might say), became my outlet to keep myself sane. Shopping for greens, who would have thought! I in no way possess a green thumb but here are my reasons why you don’t need to feel bad about creating your own little Eden.
To start with here’s a fairly obvious reason, we need plants to breathe. Photosynthesis, oxygen and carbon dioxide and all that spiel. But think of plants as your personal humidifier – plants have air-purifying abilities and health benefits. And while we’re at this first point, if you’ve got yourself lavender chilling out in your house, think about that good night’s sleep.
Next, with work from home, work-life balance has gone out the window (admit it) – but my semi shopping addiction coupled with subpar gardening skills has had a good mental influence. I can take my mind off all that nasty bad things with work and divert all that attention to my green babies. Here’s the bonus bit (because I’m feeling generous), when you see your green babies sprouting/growing/hitting adolescence, you have this sense of achievement. That’s where all the bad moments of the day dissipate slowly. If that doesn’t say mental health benefits, I don’t know what else would be honest.
Here’s my last (but maybe best) bit. Greens are just plain gorgeous. You see something pretty, your eyes light up and there we go, an instantaneous smile on that grumpy face. Just to reiterate my point, remember in Primary/Secondary school, we were constantly reminded to take a moment and look out into the greenery for our eye health? P.S. those moments were also essential to promote emotional stability and an instant mood booster. Simply being or looking at nature has so much potential on inside and outside.
One might say that we’re just bringing nature right into our living room since we don’t have time to spend in the real thing, but there’s something about growing your own green babies. If you can garden, go on! But if you’re like me, get yourself some green babies on the side and watch them blossom.