How LaRene Taught Us to Think Like a Plant

Our grandmother LaRene Smith died in 2008. She was 89. The greenhouse felt different the day after.

Not because she had revolutionary horticultural knowledge. Because she had something rarer: intuition about what plants needed.

The Philosophy

"Plants aren't trying to die," she'd say. "They're trying to live. If they're struggling, you're doing something wrong."

This sounds simple. It's not. It means: stop blaming the plant. Stop assuming you know what it needs. Stop forcing it into conditions it hates. Watch it. Listen to it.

A plant showing stress isn't "finicky." It's telling you something.

What She Taught Us

Roots are everything. "You can't see them," she'd say, "so most people ignore them. That's the mistake." If roots are healthy, everything else follows.

Water quality matters. Hard water, chlorinated water, cold water on warm days—all of it matters. You're not just watering a plant. You're changing its chemistry.

Humidity isn't luxury. For many plants, it's survival. Utah's dry air kills things that would thrive in 50% humidity. This isn't the plant's fault.

Her Legacy

We're still selling plants she grew. Still using her potting soil recipe (with modifications). Still asking ourselves, "What would LaRene do?" when we encounter a struggling specimen.

She couldn't grow citrus here. She accepted that. She couldn't force ferns to thrive in our dry air. She adapted. She grew the things that wanted to be here and did it with care.

Thinking like LaRene works for any plant. Learn more in our grow guides.

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