Mental Health Benefits of Gardening

Happy Thursday everyone! I am currently sitting on my couch, drinking my Nespresso, with my windows open, listening to the sounds of birds chirping and watching sail boats go by on the Hudson. Can you tell I'm in a good mood?? Every time it's gets just a little bit warmer out, I feel like a new whole person! Something else that has been making me feel happy, besides this gorgeous weather, is being a plant mom! Yes you heard me! Like many South Asian families, I grew up with so many different kinds of plants in my backyard from green peppers to eggplant to jalapeños to curry leaves! The tradition continued when I moved in with my last roomie who was a plant expert— she probably had over 50 different kinds of plants in our apartment and I loved it! And now, Anup and I have carried on this tradition too! There is ample research about gardening and how it improves self-esteem, attention, and mood! In addition, the childhood memories gardening evokes also brings about happiness and joy! If you are a plant mom and live in an apartment — keep reading!!

It's been hard caring for plants in our apartment because we don't always get a lot of natural lighting and don't have access to an outdoor garden. One thing that definitely helped was getting our Aerogarden. We love it because it helped solve this problem with the LED light attachment. I'm not kidding, in just 4 days we saw growth in our pods and in just under a month it's become like a forest! It's been so fun using our dill or mint when I cook dinner! Whatever I don't use I just freeze and use later. Another solution for optimizing light is using plant stands. I planted my gardenia in one and it gives it just enough height to sneak in some sunlight each day.

Speaking of pots, I recently re-potted my Olive Tree and it's been doing so well ever since! The key is to buy a potter with good drainage so you don't over saturate the soil. I bought one from West Elm that does the job perfectly — and matches my home aesthetic which is a must! For our coffee table centerpiece I made my own restoration hardware moss bowl dupe — I used faux moss balls because it was easier to find but of course you can fill it with live moss too! Keeping succulents alive are probably just as easy as faux plants since they require minimal attention. Just place them in an area that gets indirect sunlight and water at least once a week! It only took us a few months of trial and error to figure out how to best maintain our plants in our apartment and these small changes made a huge difference! Click the links below to check them out!

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