Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to give plants as gifts. With the right mindset,
Speaker 1: plants can combine the best of giving someone flowers with
Speaker 1: the upsides of longer lasting gifts. So if you are
Speaker 1: going to someone's house for a party, the odds are
Speaker 1: good that you are giving wine or flowers, and it
Speaker 1: makes sense people can serve wine even if they don't
Speaker 1: drink it, and flowers are pretty. But if you are
Speaker 1: looking for something beyond that, or just something to give
Speaker 1: as a Christmas or Birthday present, even to someone who
Speaker 1: is difficult to shop for, consider a living plant. Yep,
Speaker 1: regular houseplant like you can find in a nursery, or
Speaker 1: a plant like lows or home depot. Plants are an
Speaker 1: excellent choice because, perhaps like wine, they have been shown
Speaker 1: to boost moods and reduce stress. Unlike with wine, however,
Speaker 1: there is very little risk of a headache the next day.
Speaker 1: Like flowers, plants are beautiful, but they also tend to
Speaker 1: last longer than flowers. Most houseplants won't wind up rotting
Speaker 1: in less than a week. Of course, there are reasons
Speaker 1: people default to flowers or wine. These things don't really
Speaker 1: require anything of their recipient. Giving someone a houseplant might
Speaker 1: come across as a lighter version of giving someone a puppy.
Speaker 1: This is a present that requires work, but does it.
Speaker 1: One obvious way to get around this problem is to
Speaker 1: give a houseplant that is very easy to take care of,
Speaker 1: like a succulent alo vera, a cast iron plantodendron, or
Speaker 1: the humorously named zzi plant. Any of these growing in
Speaker 1: a neutral but nice looking pot, could be stuck on
Speaker 1: a counter or a table somewhere and mostly ignored except
Speaker 1: for a little watering, perhaps once a week or so.
Speaker 1: And obviously, most plants aren't tremendously expensive either. If the
Speaker 1: plant does die, it is not like this as the
Speaker 1: end of the world. If you are concerned that your
Speaker 1: friend doesn't have a green thumb or doesn't need one
Speaker 1: more thing to take care of in this world, you
Speaker 1: can tell your friend to treat the plant much like
Speaker 1: they would treat cut flowers. Enjoy the plant until it
Speaker 1: is no longer enjoyable, and then feel free to get
Speaker 1: rid of it. Let your friend know that you are
Speaker 1: not judging their horticultural skills, and you won't be looking
Speaker 1: for the plant the next time you visit. With this mindset,
Speaker 1: a plant can be enjoyed like flowers, and hey, it's
Speaker 1: always possible that your friend might get quite a stretch
Speaker 1: of light out of a potted plant. A friend gave
Speaker 1: me a plant to celebrate the birth of my current
Speaker 1: four and a half year old with very little tending.
Speaker 1: That plant has been going strong in our kitchen for
Speaker 1: wait for it, four and a half years. That certainly
Speaker 1: outlasted any wine or flowers that I have received in
Speaker 1: the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our times. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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