One of my favourite pastimes on social media is to click on the #plantmum hashtag and watch hundreds of videos of potted plants around the world. Lately, lots of young Nigerians, especially women, have bought potted plants in their homes and happily joined the #plantmums train.
Plants have always been a part of us. Our ancestors were mostly farmers who in addition to their farms grew vegetables and other food crops around the house. In the house I grew up in, we had a vegetable garden at the back and flowers in front. That was also the standard for most homes but as population grew in cities, houses sprouted up like weed everywhere and what more, having gardens and flowers went out for fashion. Entire floors were cemented or covered in stone tiles and plants seemed to vanish from our surroundings. That is why young people reclaiming plants into their surroundings and their homes have been a fascinating trend to watch.
While I have enjoyed the videos and celebrated new growths with the plant mums, I wasn’t particularly inspired to buy a plant. I didn’t think I’ll remember to water them, give them sunlight or the other processes necessary for a plant to flourish until I developed a cough that wouldn’t go away. The cough bothered me only at night. It kept me awake hour after hour through the night and in the morning, it vanished.
I bought cough syrups, I tried hot water with lemon and honey and ginger yet, like clockwork I woke up by midnight to cough. After two weeks of trying to self-medicate I went to see a doctor and guess what culprit was? Dry air! And why was the air in my bedroom dry? I had air conditioning, I hardly opened my windows and even if I wanted to open my windows, it was definitely not at night.
The doctor told me to get a humidifier for immediate solution to my cough but for a long-term purity of the air around me, she suggested I get plants for my bedroom. Plants purify the air around us, they take in carbon dioxide and let out oxygen! It was such a simple solution.
I am gearing up to join the #plantmum train too. I am going to start with some succulent plants, but when I am more confident, I’ll get tender ones and maybe even start a pepper and tomato garden.
There is a reason God kept Adam and Eve in the garden. Plants are more than just for food, or for decorating our surroundings, they are truly good for our lungs and the entire planet. Get you a plant today and be a plant mum too!
