Have you ever helped a friend or family member plant a garden?
Maybe you've picked a flower for a special friend as a simple gesture to show them how much you care about them?
If you've ever worked with live flowers or plants, you know that they require special care to survive and thrive.
For example, plants need a foundation of good soil to support and nourish their roots. They also need sunlight so that their cells can produce food via photosynthesis. Plants won't do well unless they have a sufficient supply of water, too.
Occasionally, plants will require special minerals that can be provided by applying fertilizer to the plant's roots. If you've satisfied all of these basic needs but a plant is still struggling, there's one more thing you could try: a kind word.
Many people believe that talking to plants helps them to grow, and they may just be right!
Back in 2009, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) ran some trials on some tomato plants and found that the ones that were spoken to grew a little taller than ones who were given the silent treatment. It was also women, in particular, who had the most effect on plants, and that their voices made plants grow faster than men’s voices.
Generally speaking, plants have senses that most people don’t appreciate or notice – they can sense light and dark, daylight length, gravity (up versus down), they can feel their way to where they want to grow, and send each other messages via chemicals when in danger. Some can move to outwit and catch flies or close their leaves when the rain begins.
David Lewis at Perennial – a charity for people in horticulture – also points out that if you’re talking to your plants generally, that means you’ve formed an attachment to them – so are more likely to care for them.
He tells ‘If you are talking to your plants, it means you are caring for them and giving them the attention they need. This, in turn, means they will be healthier and help them to grow
From the human side, talking to plants has mental health and well-being benefits. Therefore, although there may not be a clear link between the act of talking to a plant and its rate of growth, caring for plants can be equally beneficial to the plant and the person caring for it.
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