The Unexpected Life Lessons I Learned from a Houseplant

My Brown Thumb Meets its Green Match: Introducing Percy the ZZ Plant

Let’s be honest, I’m not exactly known for my nurturing nature. In fact, my thumbs are practically the opposite of green. So, when my well-meaning friend gifted me a houseplant – a supposedly “easy to care for” ZZ plant – I accepted it with the grace of a gazelle accepting a ride from a lion. I knew the odds were stacked against us.

And, predictably, our relationship got off to a rocky start. I overwatered it, then underwatered it, then forgot about it entirely for a solid two weeks. My poor ZZ plant, christened Percy (because why not give a plant a personality?), began to resemble something you’d find on the sad, discounted shelf at the garden center.