Full honesty, Pandas. Yours truly has had a long string of both successes and failures when it comes to gardening. While my cacti, money plants, pines, and singular miniature orange tree are genuinely thriving, I can’t say the same for the rest of my indoor and outdoor plants.

My ficus plants, tinier succulents, and an assortment of random discounted saplings I ‘rescued’ from the local shops aren’t doing that well. Meanwhile, my miniature baobab tree is scaring me after shedding all of its leaves. Is it going to be okay? I'm still digging into that.

Redditor u/celerywife, one of the hardworking moderators keeping the r/IndoorGarden community running smoothly, told Bored Panda a bit about themselves. "I've been a plant nerd for the last nine years. The most species I've ever had in my house were 250 unique species and cultivars. I'm from the US and was a serial murderer of plants. When I moved to Denmark, the struggles of being an immigrant made life mentally difficult," they said.

"I saw the most gorgeous, milky-pastel Pachyveria on r/succulents and got curious... and thirsty. I read about succulents and how they evolved to store up energy while the weather is good so they can live through the weather that's bad (long periods of drought), and that made me see how humans have evolved emotionally in basically the same way," they opened up to us, explaining how they started their gardening journey.

"When I could see my own cycle of ups and downs echoed in the plants', and that that was completely natural, I was hooked. My first two jobs in Denmark were in production greenhouses where I learned more than I wanted about the production side of the indoor plant industry."

However, u/celerywife noted that the way their interest in plants started isn't anything unique. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed many folks "into plants and onto Reddit" and "gaining self-satisfaction in some way is what keeps people caring about plants."

"Having the smallest success with a plant is somehow a huge motivation. Humans belong in nature, we are nature. So if you can see yourself in the plants, there's something very deep inside you that communicates that you have something figured out, and you are home (also literally in our case)."

Gardening, whether it's done indoors or outdoors, can be overwhelming to people who are new to all of this, as well as anyone who's got a long history of accidentally killing their plants. We were curious about what can motivate people to keep going despite their lack of success at first.

From u/celerywife's perspective, a lot depends on the individual's motivation. "If your motivation for plants is to have really nice decorations, you may feel defeated when the plants bought at the supermarket self-destruct (as allowed by producers), which happens to literally everyone. But if your motivation is knowledge, then failing just gives you more to achieve," they said.

"There's no need for a pep talk, you get to read and observe more. Then you learn you were supposed to fail, the plant is almost always in a situation prime to kill it without specialty knowledge, and that knowledge takes a while to gain. You will make mistakes. I still do!"

Meanwhile, we were very interested to learn about the popularity of the r/IndoorGarden community, as well as what keeps people passionate about gardening as a whole. One of the reasons why Reddit is such a great place for gardening enthusiasts is that it's arguably the best platform compared to the competition. In short, people's relationship with how they look for and consume information has changed recently.

"There aren't that many places these days to learn about plants. In-person, real-life plant societies are more rare than ever. Being a big nerd about plants is a little niche, the complexity of caring for plants means that there's some truth in a lot of what people say, but it's usually circumstantial and difficult to apply to your own circumstance," they said, adding that Google isn't all that useful these days, whereas people reach for books "as an absolute last resort."

So, people are naturally driven to online sources. The issue here is one of source reliability and accuracy. Far from everyone who claims to be a gardening expert is one! "But searching online means wading through AI-written blog results, or articles written by people who are making money per word who are not experts. There's so much copying/pasting incorrect or incomplete information between plant sites. Plant care apps are made by people who do not care for plants," the moderator said, adding that these people write to the r/IndoorGarden team all the time asking for free advice.

Of course, there are Facebook groups for plant enthusiasts, too. However, u/celerywife noted that, from their perspective, the tone there is different from that on Reddit. Meanwhile, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) aren't all that great for holding conversations or long-form answers. That's not to say that Reddit is 'perfect,' but it's still a better fit for gardening-related discussions.

"Reddit has its downsides, like an army of spamming bots that have been persistent for years, and there will always be an OG who's been here too long who's compelled to comment that a question could just be Googled. But there are mods and users around who care very much about the quality of the community and the sharing of free, correct information. I also think the up/downvote system helps to qualify opinions while not silencing anyone," the moderator told Bored Panda.

"We don't delete comments that have differing opinions, so you can say what worked for you, but if it's completely counter to what the literature says and was a stroke of luck, there will certainly be a discussion about that. With other online sources, there isn't a back-and-forth, no posing additional questions, no clarifying. There are A LOT of plant-focused subs on Reddit. I think the name r/IndoorGarden is just specific enough to give people confidence that they will see relatable content and their questions can be answered, as opposed to the wide range of r/plants, which discusses all of the plant world. There's also r/houseplants, but r/IndoorGarden sounds more romantic, doesn't it?"

Moderator u/celerywife said that, in their opinion, developing a deeper interest in a plant can be "easily sparked" by learning about where it's endemic. "Take Poinsettia [Euphorbia pulcherrima] as a festive example. In the US and Europe, it's a cold-weather, seasonal plant for winter holidays. Whenever we see them, we are gearing up for Christmas, it's cold, there's snow on the ground. We associate it only with that. Then we throw them out after the holidays because, for some strange reason, it looks terrible."

They continued: "Well, Poinsettia come from Mexico and Central America. So it shouldn't be a mystery why it looks sad in the winter in cold climates, even indoors. Did you know they need a long period of darkness to bloom? And that the red 'flowers' aren't flowers at all, they are modified leaves. The flowers are the tiny, discreet little things, not at all showy, positioned in the center of the red leaves. You'd rather not get their white, sticky sap on you because, from personal experience, it's a burning irritant."

The moderator shared what our readers could do in order to start their journey as members of r/IndoorGarden. For example, you could go to your local stores and buy a plant that you think looks nice and you'd like to see thrive. "Bring it to r/IndoorGarden to ask for an ID. Plant nerds will deliver the scientific, Latin name. With that name, as opposed to the common name, you can then search here on Reddit or Google, and you'll find good, thorough information," they said, adding that Wikipedia is also a "great friend to the plant community."

With all of this in mind, you can then find all the info specific to the species of plant you picked out: "Where it's endemic, so you can think about its natural climate and how that compares to your indoor space, soil composition, water needs, and light needs as it relates to an indoor climate. And, when you buy a plant, expect that everything is wrong. By definition, the soil is cheap and holds too much moisture, and the pot must have a drainage hole for a beginner."

In our experience, certain plants are far more delicate and demanding than others. Some don’t care where they’re placed and are seemingly happy with any amount of sunlight, water, and fertilizer at any time. Others throw a fit over being moved a few inches to one side or dramatically wilt if they don’t get watered on time.

While we appreciate all (well, okay, most) plants, our personal experiences have made us value things like resilience, independence, and perseverance that much more. Both in gardening and other areas of life!

It’s one thing to be a gardener; it’s another entirely to feel like a babysitter to several dozen plants with different wants and needs. You have to consider not just a plant’s species when it comes to things like sunlight, watering frequency, air movements, music preferences, etc., but also the individual.

Sure, as a species, succulents are incredibly hardy and don’t demand much of you. But in our experience, they are particularly prone to withering away in certain microclimates.

According to Homes & Gardens, some mistakes are more common than others when it comes to growing houseplants. One of the biggest ones is overwatering your plants.

“Although many houseplants (especially tropical indoor plants) love growing in moist soil, it should never be soggy. This limits airflow around the roots and encourages fungal growth, leading to a condition known as root rot.”

Rachel Tenny, the host of the Plant School podcast, told Homes & Gardens that watering your plants is a natural instinct when people see something going wrong with them.

“We assume the first thing it needs is water. Or, we just aren’t sure how much water our plant needs and we overdo it,” she explained.

Broadly speaking, you should do a bit of research to find out how much water your plant needs. Meanwhile, be more hands-on. Physically check the moisture of the soil with your fingers. If the top and lower layers are still moist, it’s better to refrain from touching your watering can for a while.

A good rule of thumb, in general, is to spend as much time around your plants as you can so you get to know their quirks. Research is good and all, but the other half of that coin is practice, practice, and even more practice! Don’t be scared of getting dirty.

Some other common issues include things like using pots without any drainage holes in them (this leads to root rot), underwatering your plants (they begin to wilt), overfertilizing your garden (this can damage the roots), and not providing enough light. For example, ‘low light’ doesn’t mean complete darkness.

On the flip side, putting some plants in direct sunlight can burn their leaves as they try to curl away from the rays. Do your research. Pay attention to how your plants respond to where you place them at home. Then adapt as necessary.

The Indoor Garden subreddit has been around for a long while. Created way back in early January 2013, it’s grown by leaps and bounds into a flourishing community of a million plant lovers from all corners of the globe. The online group’s main focus is to discuss tips on growing indoor gardens, from houseplants to fragrant herbs and delicious veggies.

The moderators are very big on transparency and encourage everyone to either share their own photos or to clearly credit the people whose magnificent indoor gardens everyone’s marveling at.

Which of these indoor gardens impressed you the most? Were there any that inspired you to start a new plant project, dear Pandas? What are the biggest challenges that you’ve had to overcome while gardening, whether indoors or outdoors?

We can’t wait to hear from you! If you have a moment, swing by the comments to share your thoughts. Meanwhile, feel free to share photos of your own gardens in the comments section at the very bottom of this post.

And don't be scared of reaching out to the r/IndoorGarden community: they're happy to help!