If you’re anything like me, you’re the type of person who needs to take care of others to feel productive and stress-free. This type of stimulation can manifest itself in many ways, such as taking care of friends before yourself, or cleaning obsessively when you have other tasks to be prioritized. This is something I learned about myself early on, as I’ve always been the type of person to worry about others before the tasks that needed to get done in my life. A strategy I have used to redirect this anxious energy is putting it into hobbies, and one that I have found to be rewarding is gardening and collecting a variety of indoor plants.
If you’re not sure whether this trait characterizes you, the following assessment might be helpful.
Do you ever feel like…
- You can’t relax without making sure everyone around you is okay
- You can’t take time to do your own work unless your space is taken care of
- You spend time feeling like you want to pour effort into something but don’t have an outlet to output your energy
If you said yes to any of the above, you might find starting a new hobby beneficial to your mental health. In fact, gardening has been found to be beneficial to both physical and mental health, so this hobby is definitely worth giving a try!
On my mental health journey to finding a hobby that really works for me, I discovered that gardening is the most versatile. Gardening allows you to choose how much effort, time, energy, and love you are ready to pour out. Based on your level of commitment, or your level of comfort, you can choose a plant (or collection of plants) to start off with.
Below, my top 5 indoor plants are listed from easiest to manage, to most difficult.
1. Succulents
Starting out, if you’re worried about being able to keep up with any sort of watering schedule, then succulents will be at the top of your list! I choose to water my succulents once every three weeks and have many in my collection. My favourite succulent is called the ‘fishbone cactus.’ It is almost cartoonish-looking and impossible to kill!
2. Pothos
Pothos’ are another species of plant that are known for their hardiness; they can even live in places such as bathrooms that typically do not receive much light. There are many types of pothos plants such as golden pothos, marble pothos, pearl and jade pothos. My favourite kind is the neon pothos, whose leaves are a bright neon green! The best part about owning a pothos plant is that these plants are very expressive and the leaves will curl down and look “sad” when they are needing to be watered. For this reason, they are very difficult to kill as long as they are in sight. You will be able to notice and attend to them when they need to be cared for.
3. ZZ Plant
Another great type of plant that is impossible to kill is the Zamioculcas (also known as the ZZ plant), which is definitely a staple plant for this list. I swear, you could go on vacation for weeks, maybe even months, and when you got back, this plant would look as healthy as before you left! For this reason, I personally choose to water this plant a small amount. I water these plants every 3 weeks to a month, and occasionally give a larger amount of water (maybe once every 3rd water). This plant is beautiful, and often more expensive and rare than the others, but this is definitely one to add to your wishlist!
4. Snake Plant
This plant is part of many collectors’ plant lists for good reason. The snake plant is a beautiful, pet-safe, hard to kill plant that grows tall and multiplies its shoots as it grows. This plant is similar to a succulent in its watering schedule, and can grow in most conditions, making it one that many love to have around. Though it is more expensive than most succulents, it has the capacity to grow much larger.
5. Monstera Deliciosa
Finally, my favourite beginner plant of all time is the Monstera. This plant is both easy to care for and rewarding – seeing every shoot grow is a surprise to whether it will be filled with holes, or a full leaf. This plant is sturdy, fast growing, and one that is difficult to kill. Monsteras require more water than the other plants mentioned above, and I like to keep their watering schedule to once every week or two. Although these plants require more sunlight and water, they are beautiful and each one is unique, making them amazing additions to any plant-lovers collection.
Now for my top 3 plants that I can’t manage to keep alive: Boston Ferns, Calatheas, and String of Pearls. A mixture of their unique watering, humidity and sunlight exposure demands make these plants more difficult to care for and, unfortunately, I haven’t found a spot in my space that will foster their growth. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean that you will kill them too – take this as a challenge if you’re up for it!
My best advice is no matter if you start small with a single succulent, or big (like I did) with a huge plant nursery haul, this hobby is one with the potential to serve you well. The more life that you surround yourself with, the more life you’ll be able to pour into your daily tasks and activities without feeling drained.