Liu Xiaohui

Try to picture how warm the dirt feels as it breaks apart between your fingers. The sun warms your skin while you observe seedlings growing toward it. That relationship with the earth and nature isn't just for angelic poets or people with figurative green thumbs; it's a relationship to learn. Regardless of tending a mini herb garden on your windowsill or revamping a garden bed in your backyard into a pollinator habitat, plants will teach you to be patient. They slow you down in ways that you might embrace.

I could kill a cactus. Yes, cacti are the plants that are neglected. My first houseplant was gifted to me by my cousin. A tiny succulent in a ceramic pot. I watered it every single day. I was so excited that the more I watered it, I would see growth at a much faster rate. Within a week, I had wholly drowned it to death. One week's failure taught me an important lesson to listen. Plants often talk in a whisper, and those whispers come either when their leave begins to wilt or their soil dries out.l check moisture with my fingertip and wait until the top inch has dried out before I even think of watering again. I would also adjust my watering with the seasons. I assume your inductive reasoning will soon be applied as well.

Gardening and horticulture are really about doing your best. One year, I had a tomato plant on my balcony with two tomatoes, thanks to darn squirrels! Though the squirrels ate both of the tomatoes, every meal after, basil competed to be the most productive plant I have ever grown. Focus on what works, and perhaps swap a story or two with your neighbor, or they might even want to do cuttings with you. Every plant has a story to tell, and your plant's story may start with one seed you started on your windowsill or a clearance-rack fern you rescued from certain death. Let's create these stories together.