by Amanda Rose Newton
Maybe it’s the uncertainty of the times we live in but astrology is certainly becoming more mainstream.
More than just a daily horoscope, astrological signs can help us find meaning in everyday events, provide direction, and even help us form meaningful connections.
Even if you don’t subscribe to all angles of astrology, I think all of us can agree that it’s just good fun!
Outside of personality traits and likely friends or potential enemies, astrology can also help provide ideas as to what your gardening style is. Believe it or not, personality plays a lot into it! What might make sense for some is not going to fly for others, so why not make gardening curated for you?
This month we are featuring plants for everyone’s favorite late summer sign, Virgo. Their desire to serve others first and act responsibly means they can step up to those harder plants that garden center employees hate suggesting to newbies.
Virgos in the Garden
Virgos do not need flashy anything, especially where plants are concerned. In fact, a zen garden would probably be ideal. Muted colors, simplistic, and subdued would fit the sometimes borderline perfectionist tendencies Virgos face.
Terra cotta pottery, sand media, and native plants all fit the Virgo mindset. Challenges are also welcome, so that opens the doors to all kinds of choices. Simplicity does not equate to boring when it comes to gardening.
What to Plant For Your Sign
A focus on the subtly beautiful, native when possible and plants for substance are focused on here with choices for both the garden and home.
Edibles
Citrus: Starting off with a challenge that Virgos are up for, the beautiful year-round foliage and simple, fragrant orange flower make citrus an easy choice for Virgos.
The practicality of having fresh fruit that can be eaten as is, squeezed into juice, or as a delicious addition to a cocktail makes a citrus tree a lovely, meaningful gift.
Greens: Greens of all kinds! Kale, collards, spinach, lettuce, the fancier endive…all are welcome! The beauty of greens is they can be used in more than just a veggie bed. They make welcome accents to ornamental beds and can even be grown in a container meant for flowers. They are not boastful or practical and offer heaps of nutrition.
Grapes: While grapes certainly have hedonistic roots, they are also beautiful and with the right skill set make a welcome addition to any home.
The foliage is lovely and learning how to prune vines can become its own form of mediation over time.
Herbs: As for herbs, fennel, chamomile, and lavender are best suited for Virgos. Edible lavender is a challenge in Florida, but nicely-scented varieties can be grown early in the year. Fennel or its cousin, dill, are both easy to grow and enjoyable for those seeking visits from the jewel-winged black swallowtail butterfly. Chamomile is delicate, relaxing, and often overlooked as an herb to grow at home.
Houseplants for Virgos
Rubber Trees (Ficus elastica): Featuring beautiful, large shiny leaves, rubber trees have been an indoor plant favorite for generations.
Rubber trees, and many within in genus Ficus for that matter, require special treatment to perform at their best, making them ideal for Virgo’s nurturing side.
Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata): Speaking of hard-to-keep houseplants, fiddle leaf figs are the most googled houseplant that plant lovers ask for help with. They can drop their leaves at the slightest change, making even those with green thumbs distrust their abilities. A happy fiddle leaf is possible, but mimicking their native rainforest home inside your home requires the drive of a Virgo.
ZZ (Zamioculcas zamiifolia): Do not let the similar shiny-leaved ZZ trick you into thinking it harbors the same challenges found in some Ficus sp. ZZ is a great beginner plant (or black-thumb plant) for everyone. In fact, I have left the country for weeks at a time and my ZZs were still looking great when I eventually returned. Give them some light and water (but not too much) and they are happy. The understated nature and low maintenance bring a little zen to just about any astrological sign.
Garden Plants for Virgo
Begonias: There are so many to choose from, both color and form-wise, that begonias are a great low-maintenance way to spice up the garden.
They are practical, require little watering, and can even hang out indoors as a houseplant. Perfectionist Virgos will appreciate that they do not tend to need deadheading and look good a majority of the season.
White Stopper (Eugenia axillaris): Similar to the Simpson Stopper (the more commercially available of the two) both produce lovely flowers and have beautiful bark. This shrub blooms year-round and attracts a host of birds, bees, and other wildlife. Not a statement plant, but a native shrub that manages to catch your eye regardless of its greenery status.
Yaupon Holly (Illex vomitoria): Another Florida native, the Yaupon has a long history of importance as the only natural caffeine source present in North America. It also happens to have nice flowers, red berries, and a zen-appropriate weeping form. Both elegant and understated at the same time, this is another shrub that all signs should consider bringing home.
If you are trying to gift a Virgo you know with something special from the garden, there are very few ways you can go wrong. Virgos are up for the challenge and will likely find just the place for whatever new plant finds its way to their home.
