It took millions and billions of years for mother earth to spread its greenery across the globe. It would have been wise, if humans took good care of the free OXYGEN & natural AIR PURIFIERS available around them. Many support the system by having a green thumb and keep planting trees and are nature lovers.
Me being one always felt something missing in my home despite everything. The missing link was my biggest weakness and I had to overcome it. Let us have a small read on who I am.
Table of Contents
Introduction
A Marketing Management Post Graduate who is PAN India for the past 24 years, settled in Hyderabad, The City of Nawabs. Pearls and biryanis are my super favourites too. I have always lived in a rental home with my hubby and 2 kids, grownups now. Staying in multistorey apartments never fulfilled my wish to have a garden with flowers.
With every new shift, leaving my flower and plant pots behind made me sad and I used to promise myself that next city I will not bring any plants home. But the love for greenery always made my way to the local nurseries and again I used to end up with not many but few favourites always.
Gardening is an art. One should know the right mix of Sunshine, Potting Soil, Watering and Weather Conditions. If any one of these goes wrong; your plant will suffer and indirectly it hurts to see a dying plant. I did spend thousands on lots of plants in the last decade, losing most of them due to either negligence, carelessness or lack of knowledge.
Slowly started reading articles, watching plant care videos, potting mix equations, watering science and how they can be beautifully grown without chemical fertilizers. It’s fun as well as painstaking to care for them and see them grow. But in the end, they are beautifully yours without any expectations.
They rejuvenate you and add charm to your home. Plants are positive healers. They heal the mind and body. They are stress busters and make living a priceless pleasure.
Journey Of Growing Pothos
My first plant babies were Photos always. I was always told in childhood that they grow only if you steal them. So I stole as many as I could when I was small. kidding though, they are easy to grow, need less care and are adaptive. They do not change their characteristics with changes in climatic conditions unless exposed to harsh weather.
Fresh air and light or moderate indirect sunshine are all they need to flourish. I always love to propagate them in water first. Once they have their roots you can put them in sand, soil or coco peat mixture of 1:1:1 ratio and they are fine. You can use all the 3 mediums or any 2 should work for most kinds of Photos.
Pothos are only green in colour, it is a myth. They are available in a variety of shades across the globe. Green and Golden pothos are the most popular varieties that are easily available and generally take less time to propagate and grow. Snow Queen and Marble Pothos are different varieties with green patches on white leaves.
They look extremely beautiful and change the look of your home décor. Next comes the Lemon and Neon pothos which are having plain leaves in these colours. There are many to name a few but my favourite is Pearl and Jade Pothos. I fell in love with their first sight.
They are extremely beautiful with half-white and half green leaves. They grow very slowly and are a little stubborn to maintain. Still a good choice for plant lovers.
Journey Of Growing Succulents
All the pics over Google and Pinterest of Succulents always made me skip a heartbeat. They are the prettiest plant varieties I have ever found and fell in love with them. Their tiny structures, beautiful thick leaves, and foliage make them appear out of the world.
Jade, Snake Plant, Echeveria, String of Pearls/Banana/Tears, Serpens, Blue Chalk Sticks There are hundreds of them and I have a few of them.
Succulents Care Guide
It is a myth that succulents do not need water. They do, yes, with medium to moderate amounts of sunlight but the soil needs to be well drained. Succulents are mostly planted in cocopeat or leaf compost by the nurseries for keeping them lightweight and with sustained humidity in transportation.
Always ensure that once they are rehomed, let them settle down in your climatic conditions for the first few days. In the meanwhile, get the right potting mix ready of cocopeat, sand and perlite in a ratio of 2:1:1 and water lightly for a few days. Once the plant looks alright, repot into a better ceramic pot with proper drainage holes and keep them in a semi-shade area.
They will take time to adjust to the climatic conditions & humidity. Once they root properly, they will keep growing, requiring 2-3 hours of morning sun and alternate days watering. Lack of attention and proper care, they are easy to die. Succulents need lots of patience and attention to grow with ample foliage.
Journey Of Growing Areca Palms
My first ever plant love is found in the long leaves that Areca has. They look so good and are the perfect gardening option for new gardeners as well as plant lovers. I love them tall and bushy making them a great choice for air purification and balcony plus home décor.
I have 5 of them, large and bushy. They usually gain strength in sand and soil composition and large containers with a good drainage system. Most indoor and outdoor plants are prone to attack by mealy bugs and fungi. In an ideal situation, the easiest way is to keep the plant hydrated but not in very moist conditions.
If the affected area is small, gently clean it with cotton swabs dipped in alcohol or neem oil spray. It should help in normal conditions. If the affected surface area is large, it is advised to prune the affected area to stop the spread to other areas as well as to other plants.
Fertilizers are one of the most important part of the plant growth and care. I use onion peel water and washed rice water for all of them. Easy to use and hassle-free way to make your plant shine and grow fast.
Showering the plants is a must every fortnight since it helps in keeping the plant leaves relieved from clogged pores and dust and dirt. The plant needs to breathe for healthy growth. Ample sunlight in winter and partial shade in summer works best for most plants, big or small.
Take baby steps in gardening and you will have a bright and beautiful green space in less than a year. Everything grows in its own space and love and affection helps them speed up. Green is the colour of mother nature and helps to relax and calm down.
I also have Japanese Laurel, Crotons, Syngonium, Starlight and many others along with my favourites. The love is never ending and I always stop and have something added up to my existing collection when I visit the local nurseries.
Well, that’s my gardening story. But, what about yours? Tell, how you started growing plants by commenting below.
English 
हिन्दी