How I Use Plants to Cope with Living Abroad and Plant Tips I’ve Learned
Plants, flowers, succulents, etc. have always been something that I was completely obsessed about. Horticulture is something that I just love. If you’re like me, then you travel a lot. Within the past three years, I have been to and lived in two different countries and one remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It’s hard to stay connected to your friends and family, when the destinations that you’re traveling to don’t have the best internet connection and don’t even get me started on having different time zones. It’s easy to say that I don’t talk to my family every day and If I’m being honest, it hurts. I have the most amazing family and I miss them more and more everyday when I’m away. Horticulture is something that I use to help me stay close to my family, especially my mom.
My mom has always been in love with gardening. We live in a townhouse in the Washington, DC area. Since we have a townhouse, our yard isn’t that big. My mother, however, found a way to take our small, boring yard and turn it into a jungle. Spring and summer are my mother's favorite seasons because she can garden the most during those seasons. Our front yard is filled with some of the greenest plants that you could think of. Our front yard is mainly filled with green leafy plants, usually ferns.
We also have a giant tree in our front yard, as well as a pond my father created for me. (Shoutout to my father). In our backyard, my mother has a mini farm that she is starting. In our backyard, we grow different vegetables and herbs. We grow everything from eggplants to cilantro. Growing your own fruit isn’t only healthier, but it tastes a lot better too.
My family and friends all live in the Washington, DC area, but I currently live in Lima, Peru. When I’m not living in Peru, I usually live in Honolulu, Hawaii. So I’m usually never home. When I first landed in Peru, I was homesick for a couple of days. I decided to move into a house with a garden. The house that I chose is in La Molina in Lima. I absolutely love the house because there are plants everywhere. Not only do they have an outside garden but there are plants inside the house as well. When I moved into my room, I wanted more plants. It was one thing to be inside the living room, and be surrounded by plants, but I wanted plants in my room to look at as well. I didn’t have that much money, so I decided to start with succulents first. I bought three succulents, and I have them on my window sill. I love them because they are the first thing I see when I wake up. It’s like waking up and seeing my mom. It reminds me that even though I'm in a different country, she’s not that far from home.
Since I love plants so much, my landlord lets me take care of all the plants in the house. I don’t see it as a chore, because I love all the plants in our house so much. Taking care of plants and succulents comes with a lot of hard work and dedication. Here are the eight biggest tips, I can give to new and continuing plant owners:
PLANTS CAN HEAR!! Plants can definitely hear what you’re saying to them, so make sure that you speak good things. Plants are living things, so like humans, they want to hear only positive things spoken to them.
Water your plants often. DO NOT OVERWATER! Some plants need to be watered everyday, some don’t, it just depends on the kind of plant that you have. Make sure that you are researching the correct kind of plant you have, so that way you can water it accordingly. Also, remember that when you water your plants, you water them from the roots.
Keep your plants in a place where there is a lot of sunlight. I put my succulents in the window sill, because I know that there is a lot of sunlight coming in from there. Try to place and position your plants in a place where there is a lot of sunlight.
Make sure nothing heavy is going on top of your plants. Some people like to set and lay objects on top of their plants. That is not ok, because heavy objects can kill the plants if they are on top of the plants for too long.
Avoid annoying nats, flies, and other bugs around the plants. I know a lot of times when people have plants in their home, bugs like to gather around. You should try your best to keep the bugs away. There are also all natural pesticides you can use, to keep the bugs out of your plants.
Regularly cut all the weeds from your plants. Make sure that you are constantly checking your plants to see if any weeds are growing. If they are, make sure to cut them off. This way the weeds won’t spread.
Try not to move your plants around often. Plants adapt to the environment and the space that they’re in. The leaf plant and pattern will adapt to the space that you put them in. So try not to move your plants around often.
It’s not a bad thing to repot your plants. Depending on the plants that you have, some plants need fresh soil often. If you think it’s time to repot your plant (Speak with a professional and research), you should repot your plant.
I hope that these tips help you when it comes to taking care of your precious little garden. I know my succulents and my plants are one of my biggest pride and joys. Your garden should be something that you take seriously, and give a lot of TLC. I hope that by me sharing this with you, it helps and goes a long way.
Satarra Johnson is a International Business and Spanish major who studied and lived in Lima, Peru. Satarra loves the arts, music, and plants. Satarra loves to be surrounded by plants and has a desire to share her love of plants with all.