8 wise plant-inspired proverbs to live by

Advice for life inspired by plants

Our relationship with plants dates right back to the dawn of humanity when we were foraging for nuts and berries, building shelters from tree bark and leaves and healing our wounds with medicinal plants.

Then the first civilisations came along and began building ornamental gardens – places of peace, beauty and solitude to provide a sanctuary from the chaos of the outside world – and so began our deep love of plants and gardening.

Getting philosophical

So with our foliage friends so deeply ingrained in our culture and daily lives, it’s not surprising that great thinkers and philosophers have often turned to the botanical world for inspiration in their quest for truth and wisdom.

Our favourite botanical proverbs 

Search for ‘plant proverbs’ on Google images and you’ll see hundreds of memes offering plant-inspired pearls of wisdom. So why not take a leaf out of Mother Nature’s book and get inspired by a few of our favourite botanical maxims…

1. “He who plants a garden, plants happiness.” – Chinese proverb

2. "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." – Greek proverb

3. “Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.” – Chinese proverb

4. “He that plants thorns must never expect to gather roses.” – Arab proverb

5. “All plants are our brothers and sisters and they talk to us and if we listen we can hear them.” – Native American proverb

6. “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”- Chinese proverb

7. “He who plants the lettuce doesn’t always eat the salad.”- Spanish proverb

8. “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago; the second best time is now.”- Greek proverb

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