Fighting Anxiety with Plants
According to Press Connects, plants and humans have a unique cycle where one helps the other. Plants help humans breathe by providing us with oxygen, and humans help plants “breathe” by providing them with carbon dioxide. Plants also support people’s mental health. Watching a plant grow and flourish can calm your house and decrease anxiety levels.
The pandemic has made people want to work on their mental health, which has resulted in an increase in Black people wanting and buying plants.
Plant parent and Saint Heron Personal Assistant Curt Morton is a proud parent of several plants, including golden pothos, monsteras, staghorn ferns, and a host of cacti and succulents. Morton said that his mood and overall vibe shifted to a more positive one when he added plants into his space.
“The air was suddenly cleaner, and I started sleeping better. Plants have a natural ability to cleanse the air and almost immediately boost your mood,” he said.
A lot of Black plant owners also want to feel a spiritual connection in their homes. Writer Gabrielle Hickmon said that more Black people engage with the natural world through houseplants or gardening as a radical self-sufficiency act.
“Connecting with our ancestors by returning to African agricultural practices and bringing plants native to our ancestral homelands into our environment is healing for Black people,” Hickmon said. “In a world that often denies us access to greenery, frivolity, healthy food options, and full access to our history.”
Meet Some of the Leaders Helping the Black Community
Now more than ever, Black people needed to open a space for themselves and their communities to feel welcome in the green space. More Black areas are introducing plant parenthood into the culture. Pioneers such as Black Boy Plants, Hilton Carter, Maryah Greene, and Maranta Plant Shop use their plant expertise and their passions to present planting through a new lens and share their knowledge with the masses.
“During this unique time dealing with COVID-19 and police brutality against Black and Brown people, it stopped the world,” Morton said. “Spending more time home, we are all searching within ourselves and finding ways to get some sanity in this world. Planting is a form of therapy. There’s nothing more peaceful than caring for a plant and watching it grow. Gardening, for Black people, is in our DNA. It’s a part of who we are as a culture and it’s a natural attraction.”
Morton encourages new plant owners to start parenthood with a lot of research and patience. He also advises them to know what type of light their space is getting to know what kind of plant to get.
”Plants require two things: light and water,” he said. “There’s a plant for every level of light, figuring out what type of sunlight you’re getting [during the] day is going to be important. Once you’ve figured that part out, you can go out and start the fun part.”
