Benefits of Plants In Your Personal Wellness Routine Series: Interview with Tamar of @marsky_plants

Last year was one of personal transformation for me. It was the first of many, (I hope and look forward to), where I started to feel more comfortable in my skin and understanding what I need to be my best self.

One of the things that has so much unexpected joy into my everyday life are indoor plants. I shared some of my newbie tips I learned during my first year in this post.

However, the addition of adding greenery to my indoor spaces, taking the time to learn and care about them, in addition to seeing them thrive, has become a new form of meditation for me on some days. It helps me lower my stress and find a small sliver of me time during the day.

As mentioned in the newbie blog post earlier, I joined a handful of Facebook and other groups with other plant loving women and asked them about how plants have helped their personal wellness.

Plants and the “Plant community” has quickly grown on social media featuring people sharing their collections, tips, tricks, and even the misses.

Today, I would love to introduce you to Tamar of the Instagram account @marsky_plants.

#1. Please tell us a little about yourself and when you first became a plant mom.

My name is Tamar but people call me Mar. I have a nomadic soul but my  job tends to soothe that part of my life. When I am not traveling for work; I can be found at home doing something creative, trying a new recipe, or playing with my plants.

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I became a plant mom because of my mom, (how ironic), and close girlfriends.

I have always been surrounded by plants growing up, but I never really had a desire to grow my own. I always thought with my travels, that would be a bad idea.  Well guess what, that’s a lie!

My mom and girlfriends are the biggest influencers of why I am here today. Having these ladies in my life constantly talking about their plants inspired me to try my hand at growing something. In a roundabout way, they steered me in this direction.  

Now over 20 plants later, who would have thought this would be something I am passionate about. I guess it’s true, the people you have around you sometimes influences the things you do.

#2. Did plant care come natural to you? Tell us a little about how the beginning of your plant mom journey.

Plant care did not come natural to me; but my family and friends who are plant lovers, helped me along the way. My initial plant journey seemed easy because I was growing succulents and they were thriving and growing . When I decided to venture into house plants was when the real challenge came about.

The first plant that died on me was a prayer plant. No matter what I did, it just kept on dying. This plant totally hurt my feelings and I took it very personal. It didn’t last long but I had to go through that to get to where I am today. At that time I had several pothos, snake plants, rubber plants, and succulents that was doing well,  so I thought I was Ms Green thumb.

That plant dying taught me a lesson that eventually humbled me. It taught me that, I will not have success with every plant and it’s not the end of the world. Growing plants is all about trial and error and you have to understand that in order to be successful.

#3. How did you become aware of the wellness and mental health benefits of gardening? How would you explain your experience to someone who’s never owned a plant?

I never understood why my mom was always in her garden until I became a plant grower. Growing plants and caring for them, has become my happy place.  

You know how people get excited to go home to their pets, that’s how I feel about my plants. After a crazy week of traveling for work, I look forward to coming home and seeing what my plants are up to. I like checking on them and making sure they are ok, healthy, and living their best life.  

Caring for my plants is a therapeutic way to clear my mind. This is the outlet I use to get rid of the stress I have accumulated while at work and traveling.

Checking your plants and seeing growth is a mood booster. Growth means your plant is happy and that’s a sign you are doing something right. On a bad day when everything is going wrong, that can change your mood entirely. Seeing a new leaf is like winning on a scratch off ticket you bought at the corner store. It’s an unexpected surprise.

#4. Do you have a specific ritual you follow to reduce stress?  

When I am stressed; I like to take deep breaths and meditate for at least 10 mins just to clear my mind. I strongly believe clarity brings solutions. Only when I have cleared my mind, I can find the source of my stress and tackle it.

#5. What’s one general plant care tip you’d share with new plant owners?

One tip I will share is don’t stress over your plants. Stress is energy and I swear our plants can feel it. Sometimes the things we stress over like a yellow leaf or no sign of growth is actually nothing to be stressed about. Plants do go into dormant stages and yellows leaves occur not because something is wrong with your plant, but sometimes it’s just the cycle of that leaf. Just cut that leaf and keep it moving.

#6. Where can we follow you for more of your journey?

To follow me on my journey you reach me on Instagram at @marsky_plants.

Thanks so much Tamar for sharing your story with us. I know I’ve learned a lot that can easily be translated to the world outside of plants. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.