“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” 

– Alexander Den Heijer

I don’t have a green thumb…but I am learning.

 

My husband does all of the gardening. He created lots of large garden beds and an orchard in our yard that make our outdoor space magical. 

I especially love the Spring and Summer for all of its fruits, veggies, and gorgeous flowers.

So when my husband gave me a braided hibiscus on my first Mother’s Day, I was surprised at how much I loved and wanted to take care of it.

I have been given plants before, but never really cared that much about them. But not this one. The red-orange blooms were so lovely, but the plant seemed sickly at times.

It’s a tropical plant, so it spends the summer outside, and then we bring it inside during the winter.

And, it would bloom for a bit and then it would stop producing flowers. It was still alive, but not thriving, especially during the winter months when it was inside.

So, I started to learn about how I can help it grow and bloom. I reminded myself that there was nothing wrong with the plant. It simply needed an environment change.

Indoors, I would have to move it from room to room. We have central heat, but we use our fireplace a lot, so the living room really gets toasty warm in the winter. But that heat doesn’t reach all the rooms because of the shape of my house.

It was sort of like Goldilocks. The living room was too hot, the guest room was too cold, but the kitchen was just right…

The kitchen was warm enough, and the sunshine through the window was perfect.

Then I learned I needed to feed it differently, so I gave it some organic fertilizer to give it some more nutrients.

I was also probably not watering it enough either. It’s a tropical flower, so it needs lots of water. And yes, I gave it filtered water…plants don’t like chemicals either.

And then I waited…because when you plant a seed or start nourishing a plant, it takes some time to see results.

And guess what happened?!

My beautiful braided hibiscus started to produce blooms…dozens of them!

Bright orange flowers that said thank you for caring for me. 🙂

I share this because our bodies are similar to the plants and garden we nurture and grow. 

You start with a seed.

You feed your body the nutrients to help it grow. That looks like lots of whole foods and targeted supplements to help give it the vitamins and minerals our body needs.

You make sure to have the right amount of sunshine and air and TLC.

And you drink pure water to hydrate your cells.

From there you, you wait and trust.

For signs of growth.

For signs of life.

When you plant your garden in the spring, you know that you won’t see that blossom for several weeks.

Similarly, your body generates new cells every day. These cells make up sperm and egg, which are the genetic components to your future baby.

And you can control how you feed these cells.

They can be nurtured to be their most fertile by giving it what it needs …and then trusting in the process.

You are born with all of the eggs you will have, but you can improve the quality of those that still remain.

Give your body (and your husband’s too) 90 days to optimize the quality of your cells.

 

Give it what it needs, believe and nurture it, and watch the seeds you sow turn into beautiful blooms.