One of my favorite things to do each day is admire my plants, examine their growth and marvel at their beauty.  My favorite plant is definitely the Monstera Deliciosa.  I started germinating them from seeds several months ago and have over 9 beautiful baby plants that keep flourishing and growing month after month.  

The more mature this plant gets, the more fenestrations it will have (that's the holes that make this plant so popular and give it the nickname, "Swiss Cheese Plant").  It takes 2-3 years for these plants to get their first 'cut' leaves.  I have a couple Monstera's that are larger and better established, but there is no shortcut to owning beautiful plants.  You just have to love them.  Sure, you can buy them more mature and established, but then you miss part of the journey.  

Plants used to intimidate me so much.  I thought I only had a 'brown' thumb.  I thought, I wasn't one of those 'plant people'... but it is definitely a passion that finds you.  Having plants and tending to their needs is a daily practice.  And like anything new, it needs to be learned.  Every plant lover has a plant that finds its end.  It just reminds you, no two living things are ever exactly the same.  Even if they aren't getting watered every day, you still need to check in on them daily.  

One of the things I've learned since I've become a 'plant mom' is that you can't speed up the process.  If it takes 2-3 years for a Monstera to get their beloved holes, then it takes 2-3 years.  Plants live on their timeline, not yours--and perhaps that also makes it one of the most rewarding hobbies, knowing that you've cultivated their survival and are gifted the rewards of their beauty.  

Since plants are a living, breathing, eating thing, they require a commitment.  What I learned, when I was willing to make the commitment to my plants, I was also making the commitment to my peace.  For me, maintaining my plant room, germinating and propagating the most delicate seed or clipping, is very therapeutic.  It is a reminder that consistency pays off.  That any kind of growth takes time.  That when we stop and appreciate the beauty in all living things we also find it surrounds us everywhere.