Plants can have character, just as people do, and some offer traits that are critical to be channeled in times of high heat, and high stress. Whether their purpose is combative or synergistic, this list of plants covers the different states you’ll need to guide you through the summer.
Caprese salads and pastas and chickens galore, garnished at your whim and refreshing to the end with just a few leaves of basil, that you can clip right off of the sunny spot by the airy glass windows. Summer often has an appetite of its own that desires freshness, juice, and clean flavors that is incomparable to the artificial rote of other seasons, when ingredients are limited. Basil holds a simple promise of bringing these elements to your wooden tables, in its supple green oval palms.
Heal your flame of discontent, and cool your bridges burned with healing renewal. Aloe, when split down its thick and tender middle, is cool as a plunge into a shady, banded river in the afternoon, absent of salt’s harshness. When applied to the skin, particularly around and on the nose, aloe hardens to a comfortable tight pull, and eventually settles, purifying and mettling tensions through its own subtle pressure.
Never be shy of adventure, especially when the day is long and the legs itch to roam. Challenge, edge, and fortitude are in a cactus’ design, from its abrasive edges to its resilient stance. Allow yourself some of that keen influence to have the courage to scare and dare both yourself and the others around you. Do what you’ve longed for. Shock even heat itself.
A safe haven from the overwhelming squeak of flip flops on public floors, bonsai plants radiate calm. Like people, they never reveal that they are constantly growing, perpetually changing, and perhaps don’t even know it’s occurring. Meditate on that hidden magic when you look at your bonsai, and smile at life’s secret powers.
Tousled white sheets and different shades and sizes of toes, all intertwined and ever-so-often coiling. Yes, summer sex is in the air, and french lavender reeks of it. With a perfuse smell, it reminds us of bodies that can’t stop with sweet sweat, all for strangely animal reasons. Keep some in the bedroom to tap into that bliss as desired.
Mint is pivotal; its the transformer of desserts, drinks, and moods. For a swift pick-me-up for when you feel beat, break off a tiny leaf and let it sit on your tongue. Swirl it, even, to distribute the sharp taste all around your mouth. You’ll feel revitalized, all without the cost of a combative bottle of kombucha.
Radiating from a dense center, spider plants thin out along the length of each leaf and tilt towards gravity’s hand. Despite the pull, the plant remains arched at the top, striving to get taller as it grows more leaves and is pushed upward. Let that serve as a symbol of gratitude for where you are now, but an awareness that you can reach towards more in the seasons to come.
Play outside some more, and make it your goal to smell like dill. Like dirt, dill smells pure and simple – a mix of the roughness of a child and the subtlety of an adult. Take advantage of everyone’s good moods and smiles from behind sunglasses by requiring yourself to bring some lightheartedness too, to the everyday.
These sprigs resemble moderation. Chances are, they’re sprinkled onto many breads and starches galore that you enjoy with a ready eagerness. Forget starvation to attain the summer body of your dreams, and focus on feeding yourself in patterns that make you feel satisfied in a wholesome manner. Enjoy delectables like those carbs sparingly, just as you would season them with trifle amounts of rosemary, and be confident that you’re on your way to healthy body peace.
Play hard, but work harder. In Asian countries, bamboos represent luck and wealth. Add a lick of living fortune to your home as motivation for the rewards you’ll reap if you hang in there and work dutifully, even when summer plans hang waiting in the inescapable humidity for you. Your dedication will be worth every hour – you’ll thrive with your bamboo.
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