May 06, 2020
Plant care is self care
I have somewhat of a green thumb. It’s new. It didn’t always used to be this way
About as long as I could remember I have loved plants, particularly flowers. But a love of something doesn’t always translate into a natural understanding of their care, so alas, For many years I killed just about every plant I’ve ever had...
...and then along came witchcraft
*sprinkle sparkle sounds*
It all started about 2 years ago with a humble barrel cactus. “Not this time” I thought determinedly, “not this little guy”
I’d never truly been able to care for plants because I’d never really truly cared for myself
My home wasn’t in order, neither was my head and heart. After 6 months or so on the pagan path I had decluttered my life of all toxic things, people and behaviours and began the process of healing internally and finding peace. In short it’s hard to remember to water a plant when all your mental energy is very low vibrational and you’re subconsciously repressing misery
My cacti collection instead of dying began to grow
After achieving moderate success with cacti I moved onto succulents and herbs
Suddenly I was gifted plants at every opportunity. An orchid for Christmas:
A lemon tree for graduating my CBT course:
With each plant came research, care and affection. I realised caring for plants was a way of caring for myself. By setting aside a little time to prune and water I was practising my pagan craft
My plant projects became bigger and bolder:
Strawberries grown from seedI brought the study of plants and flowers into my practise
The Victorian secret language of flowers needs a post of its own as the correspondences and inspiration this book gives me are always on the bloody money
My next project is particularly ambitious: Growing climbing roses around our front door
I doubt I’ll get flowers this year and maybe not even next year until September it’s a patience thing with climbing roses. They require training (attaching to a trellis) it’s the trickiest thing I’ve tried so far. They were particularly reluctant to grow but they have almost exploded as we get into the summer months from tiny twigs in May to basically a bush. I am one proud and patient plant mama