My name is Penny and I’m a plantaholic. It’s been two weeks since my last visit to Home Depot’s garden center, and I’m going crazy imagining all the awesome plants I’m missing out on.
The definition of a plantaholic in the urban dictionary reads, “Anyone who has an addiction to plants and can’t get enough of them in all their horticultural marvels.”
How do I know I’m a plantaholic, and how do you know if you’re one? There are signs you can watch for.
• Do you have strong urges to go to garden centers or the Home Depot, just to ‘look around?’ Have you ever left emptyhanded? Have you ever left with more than one cartload?
• Do you ever see a plant for sale, talk yourself out of it, and then regret it for weeks?
• If a plant dies do you feel the need to instantly replace it, or, if you find an empty spot in your garden do you feel the irresistible need to fill it?
• Have you ever bought an unusual, exotic plant, knowing there’s a good chance it will die, but are unable to deny yourself the purchase anyway?
It’s no surprise I became a plantaholic. Growing up there were always plants around our house, including my bedroom. I helped my parents in the garden since before I can remember, and they currently have a number of flowerbeds at their lake home. My maternal grandpa was a master gardener and had a small greenhouse.
I discovered my first plant store years ago when I was living in a suburb of St. Paul. There they sold all kinds of cool plants I’d never seen before, most under the Exotic Angel Series brand. And they were only a couple dollars apiece! I fell in love and bought lots of them.
The word ‘exotic’ on the tag should have clued me in that these weren’t your typical plants, and I didn’t have much experience with growing houseplants yet. Most of them were from South America and Asia, and unfortunately for me, Minnesota wasn’t anywhere close enough to their natural habitat to keep them happy. Most died pretty quickly.
When we purchased our property of Clearwater, the first thing we did that spring was till up a spot for a garden. Growing vegetables and canning wasn’t even a question, it was just something I assumed I had to do since I grew up doing it.
My maternal grandpa passed away shortly after we moved, and to remember him I dug up a number of plants from his numerous gardens, brought them home, and planted them. (Over 25 years later I still have most of them). This started my obsession with outdoor flowers.
Luckily for me, my husband enjoys everything I plant, so he’s always building me new flowerbeds. This year it was the purchase of a vintage dump truck (a 1935 Ford) that he put on the north side of my wildflower field to balance the old truck already out there on the south side that’s filled with flowers. It was too late in the season to plant flowers in the new truck, but I’ll have seeds ready for next year!
Along with all the perennial flowerbeds, I have annual flowers all around the house in just about everything I’ve been able to find that will hold dirt, from traditional pots to large urns, and metal coffee pots to old wagons.
My houseplant addiction has never wavered. For years I had around 50 indoor plants. Then I discovered cacti and succulents, and after that I’ve had no idea how many I have. The biggest problem is that I’m running out of room to put them all. Most of the succulents are outside for the summer, but I think I’m going to have to buy a grow light shelf system for them to live under this winter.
This spring, gardening became extremely popular again, especially vegetable gardening. As people shelter in place and worry about the pandemic and potential shortages of food, it’s only natural they’ve found ways to save money, become more self-sufficient, and practice social distancing.
Many have also found comfort in the rituals of planting, watering, tending, and harvesting. Fleet Farm in Monticello told me at the end of May they’d sold most of their nine week supply of plants in a month.
It reminds me of the victory gardens of WWI and WWII, where people were told it was their ‘civic duty’ to grow food to help prevent starvation. This time however, the government hasn’t been encouraging everyone to grow their own food, people are doing it on their own.
I do feel a bit sorry for all these gardening newbies, however. Even if they find it as satisfying as I do, it’s a lot of work. There’s also ongoing learning and experimentation, and in the beginning it can be expensive if you don’t have any of the tools or supplies.
Although I don’t see my plantaholism ebbing any time soon, I do believe there will be less people getting their hands dirty next spring.
My name is Penny and I’m a plantaholic. It’s been two weeks since my last visit to Home Depot’s garden center, but I’m hoping to stop there this weekend.
