Planting Peace: Growing Elephant Ears + Other Life Lessons 🪴

📍 Patterns + Peas 🫛 | Written by Stacey Quinn

 

There’s a giant pot of elephant ears planted right outside my front window. On any given day, if you walk past my house, you’ll see them standing tall…glossy, green, and full of life. I planted them there on purpose. That spot gets just the right amount of sun, and it’s the same window I sit in front of when I work, create, or pause to reflect.

I started growing elephant ears almost ten years ago from simple bulbs…nothing fancy. Just small brown bulbs planted in the spring. And every year, like clockwork, they come back. They shoot up out of the soil taller than before, stronger, fuller, more rooted.

But what I’ve learned over the years is this: elephant ears need the right conditions to thrive.

Plenty of water.

The right balance of shade and light.

Protection from the elements.

Time.

And honestly? So do I.

In 2020, we had a bad storm here in Texas. The cold hit overnight…unexpected and unforgiving. I didn’t get a chance to trim the leaves back or mulch them like I normally do. The roots were shocked. And just like that, they died. For the first time in years, they didn’t return. That pot sat empty for a long time. It was hard to look at.

But I didn’t give up. I started again.

I planted new bulbs. I waited. For weeks, there was nothing. Just dirt.

Then one day…a little green sprout. Then another. And another.

It took eight weeks before I saw real growth. But now?

They’re taller than me.

Bold. Flourishing. Unbothered.

Just like I’m learning to be.

I’ve realized those elephant ears mirror my own process.

Sometimes I get knocked down. Sometimes I lose things.

Sometimes I have to start over…from the dirt.

But if I stay in the right environment, protect my peace, stay hydrated (literally and spiritually), and give myself grace… I grow.

Not always fast.

Not always pretty.

But always bigger. Always deeper. Always stronger.

Now on Sunday mornings, I sit at my desk with my tea, my candles, or just the quiet. And I stare out the window. My elephant ears greet me, reminding me of everything I’ve weathered and everything I’m still becoming.

 

 

This is what I see from my desk every day. Elephant ears, stretching toward the light, unbothered and bold. It’s a reminder that growth doesn’t have to be loud. Because some seasons are for blooming. Others are for planting peace.

🫛

With love,

Stacey