My grandma was an avid gardener. Her backyard was a tangled, roaming mess of greens and bright colors. She would spend hours each day caring for her plants and send her grandchildren out to pick fresh vegetables and fruit to add to her dinner. Instead of gum, she would chew mint she had grown herself. Her backyard was a coveted stop on the Pennsylvania garden tour.
I, on the other hand, have never successfully kept a plant alive.
So, I’m trying again. Today, on a whim, I bought an (almost) unkillable plant from a bodega. If it survived the bodega, there’s no damage I can possibly inflict. (Right? Right.) This will be my real foray into gardening; the other times didn’t count. Only 499 plants away from being a true gardener.
The best pieces of advice I’ve read so far are:
1. Water it right (Lifehacker) – Make sure to do your research. Know how much water your plant needs.
2. Know the sunlight (DNAinfo) – Don’t buy a plant just because you like it. Choose wisely for the sunlight in your home/office.
3. Be patient with the plant and with yourself (CafeMom) – It’s a living thing, tend to it and if you fail, be nice to you and try again.
Progress: 1 day not dead
Do the Thing 
I, too, have a brown thumb. Once, for Teacher Appreciation Week, I was given a cactus because it’d be impossible for me to kill.
It died.
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Haha, I’m so sorry. We should create a Brown Thumb Support Group.
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[…] Grow a plant without killing it […]
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I would also like to join the brown thumb club. I’ve found bonsai trees tolerate me, though.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I look forward to your posts about doing all the things. Ha.
Lorna x
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That’s impressive! Aren’t bonsai trees famous for being tricky to care for? Or am I making that up?
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Small world. I used to watch your grandmother on Saturday mornings as a kid.
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Crazy! Did you live in a particularly polluted area or…?
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[…] it’s been a little more than two weeks of trying to keep a plant alive and Buffy (named after the Vampire Slayer) is still taking in […]
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