Carrie Baker – The Growth Collective

Hey Friend!

If you have been around here for more than five minutes, you’ll know that I love houseplants. To have a house full of luscious green leafy plants, to bring life, colour and cosiness to my home, was a goal I’d had for years. After many failures of one plant after another sadly meeting their withered end, I gave up. Once we moved to the UK and the weather seemed a little more conducive, I decided to try again.

What I have learned over the years, as I’ve succeeded in keeping the vast majority alive, is how much people are like houseplants.

Here are 9 reasons we are basically just houseplants with feelings:

We need the right amount of sunlight.

Plants need sunlight. Mostly it’s bright indirect light, or even medium to low light, but they need it to live. Plants convert sunlight into energy (photosynthesis), and they can’t grow or bloom without it. People need sunlight too, whether we like it or not, as in my daughter’s case – Not!(We don’t need sunlight at the levels that bake our skin to an unhealthy shade of crispy.) Sunlight improves mood, reduces blood pressure, gives you vitamin D (you knew that one already!), strengthens your bones, improves quality of sleep and more.

If we don’t get out in the fresh air and get those rays on our skin, like plants we get a little pale and can feel a little under the weather. While houseplants probably wouldn’t enjoy a breezy walk around the block in the colder months, we sure do benefit from it. Get outside, as often as you can. If you can’t everyday, at least find a sunny spot by the window.

We need water.

Houseplants will tell you in their various ways when they need to be watered. Especially my peace lilies. They get super dramatic, they go so floppy and droopy, looking like they’re on deaths door… Calm down guys…

I honestly lose count of the times I ask my three children if they’ve had enough water. Every. Single. Day. I can tell when they haven’t had enough, because they’re grumpy, they think they are STILL hungry and they get a little droopy. Are you having enough water on the daily?

A good way to drink enough and to keep track, is to carry a good sized drink bottle with you throughout the day. You only need to count the few times you fill it up and not individual glasses. (I can never remember how many glasses I’ve had!)

We need the right nutrients.

Indoor plants absorb nutrients from the their roots from the soil they are in, and also from fertilising regularly. Like plants, if we want to thrive we need to have the right intake of the good things our bodies need. It’s so important to eat food that will give us energy, and choose the right fuel for our life as best we can. This may mean reading the packaging on the food you’re eating, swapping food for better options that will fill you up for longer, or that have a greater nutritional value.

In recent times, I’ve made some big changes for my family in what I cook, bake, bring into the home and how we eat. I have noticed a huge difference in myself and how my body and brain functions, on better fuel. I choose to fuel my body for the life I want. (The occasional dabble in treats is ok too!) Making adjustments to your eating gradually, is a good way to sustain the changes you are making. What is one good change you can make this week?

We need times of rest.

All plants take a break. My orchids take a regular break. Once their beautiful blooms fade, they rest before they lavish more flowers on me. Sometimes they take a much longer break of many months when they need to. Most plants have a growth season and a rest season. We as people need times of rest, and it’s ok to do so. I’ve written a blog post on signs you need to rest, you can read that here.

You can’t bloom all the time. Listen to what your body needs and rest when you need it. Rest looks different for everyone, find ways to rest that works for you.

We need to be dusted.

Over weeks, plants can accumulate dust on their leaves and this dust needs to be removed. Plants breathe through their leaves so this is kind of important. For plants, dusting is done by gently stroking each leaf with a damp cloth to remove the grey layer.

Like plants, we can accumulate some ‘dust’ from life, and we need to clean that stuff off. It might be the way someone spoke to us, being overlooked for an opportunity, a disappointment or hurt. We can clear the dust from us by practicing self care, speaking good things over ourselves with daily affirmations, by realigning ourselves with the truth we know about us. Another good way to do this is to talk to a trusted friend or family member, share these things and let them love us by speaking life giving words of truth that will clean away the dust. By doing this on a regular basis, we will to shine again.

We need to be in the right place.

To know where in your home you need to situate your plants, is to know them and what they need. Each variety of plant has their own needs. Houseplants are good at letting us know they aren’t in the right place. Their leave may turn a little faded if there’s not enough light, or burned leaves if there is too much.

This is the same for us. To make sure that we are in the right position, we have to know ourselves and find out what we need. We sometimes assume that our situation is right for us, but there will be signs to tell us otherwise. Just like plants let us know they need to be moved, our feelings can sometimes be a good indicator. Sometimes it just feels like there is an awkward and uncomfortable fit to your life. Chat with someone far enough from the situation who will be able to give you wise advice and will let you know if they see it too. This leads beautifully into the next point…

We need to prepare for the seasons.

Indoor plants change with the seasons. In winter, their growth slows down and you will need to move them away from the cold windowsills and from hot radiators. In the warmer months, most plants won’t love that hot sunlight scorching their leaves. Did you know that we change with the seasons too?

Some of us come alive in the summer, and need to be out revelling in the sunshine while it lasts. Others will be staying away from the heat and waiting patiently for autumn to return. Some will love the darker evenings of winter, when they can be home more and enjoy their cosy home.

Other ways we change in seasons, is in each season of life. You are constantly changing. If you really think about it, you aren’t the same person you were two years ago, or even six months ago. And as we are changing and moving through different seasons in life, our needs are different.

Maybe you need to slow your pace a little, or maybe this season for you is that you have the energy to do all the things. Sometimes seasons in life will force us to take a different pace, than the one we choose. In recognising seasons, we can prepare for them, ease into them, or anticipate what is to come. A great question to ask yourself is; ‘What is it that I need in this season?’.

We need to be repotted.

Recently, I got around to (finally) repotting some of my plants. The thing with plants, is that they grow. They all grow at different paces, some will stay on the smaller side, but some will get very big over the years. As they become too big for their pots, plants are really good at giving us signs they’re not happy.

They will need to be watered a lot more frequently, some of their leaves will start to yellow, or go brown around the edges, their roots will come out of the drainage holes and they will generally look a little on the shabby side. Choosing the right sized pot is important, but we will cover this in a moment.

We too can out grow our life and routines. Over time we change and grow, mostly in minuscule ways, but sometimes in big leaps. After we’ve had times of growth, our life can feel a little uncomfortable as though it isn’t the right fit. Mostly it will be the rhythms and routines that no longer fit this post-growth version of you. Making some small adjustments to your daily life can help with this.

Perhaps after this new growth, you have a bigger vision for what you want you life to look like. As with plants, you need to choose the right pot … and it’s not the biggest one on the shelf. Choosing the next size up for your plant will give it the right amount of room to grow. Giving a plant a pot that is far too large will negatively affect the health and growth of the plant.

As you grow, be wise in what space you choose to occupy, to make sure you can thrive and fit well. Just as a too small life can feel uncomfortable, so does a too big life.

We need to celebrate new growth.

If you are a plant parent, you will remember well those first plants you brought home. You will remember how you fussed and fretted whether you watered them enough, too much, or if they would even survive. But you will vividly remember when they first grew new leaves, and how excited you were. You were nailing this ‘growing stuff’ thing and that new leaf was absolute proof! When plants are well looked after they will flourish and give you new leaves and sometimes flowers.

Why shouldn’t we be just as excited when we grow?

Whether it’s you or a good friend who notices first, when you show growth in an area of your life, there should at least, be a marking of the occasion. When we grow it shows that we are strong, thriving, making great choices and that our needs are being met. Celebrate the small and big ways you grow, in whatever way seem fit, you deserve it!

As we wrap up. here is your gentle reminder to do these things regularly:

• Get some sunlight (and I mean a sensible amount!)
• Drink a good amount of water and keep track. Remember you are mostly made of water!
• Eat well and get the right amount of nutrients to sustain your life. It’s ok if you are still learning this (it is taking me YEARS!).
• You need times of rest. Give yourself permission – in this fast paced world, no one else will!
• You need to dust off the stuff that life flings at you. Daily affirmations and talking with loved ones is a healthy way to do this.
• Make sure you are in the right place. Maybe it’s your relationship, the living room furniture arrangement, your desk set up, or a friendship that is no longer the right place for you, talk to a trusted non-biased friend before making any sudden or major life decisions.
• Seasons in life change and as much as you can, be prepared for what is coming, as it will help you feel ready.
• You may out grow your life as you change. Your routines won’t serve you forever, start with those when your life doesn’t feel the right fit.
• Celebrate your growth! Growing, is proof that you are doing something right, and is worth having a private dance party for.

I hope you have enjoyed this fun post. My hope is for you to flourish in life, live your best life, because this doesn’t happen all on it’s own – trust me, I know from personal experience!

I want you to do something for me. Choose three things from this little list, to action this week. Maybe you can have a dust off, sit with your face to the sunlight or cook a really nutritious meal. I would love to know which ones you choose, let me know in the comments!

Sending you love, you beautiful and complicated houseplant,

Carrie xxx