Plants Heal

Plants have numerous benefits for our health when it comes to air purification and some plants like aloe have properties that can be used to help heal cuts and burns. We also know that caring for plants can bring its own boost of serotonin. 

It’s this idea of healing that Illustrator and Designer Aisha Richardson is exploring with her series “Plants Heal.” One of her illustrations depicts a set of lungs covered with green growing plants, a message that came up during a pandemic where the primary symptom was difficulty breathing. It also came about in a time of personal difficulty for Aisha.

“I was going through a lot of sadness, just trying to figure out what to do or how to deal with that emotion.”

Aisha’s love of plants came about in a rather unconventional way with her mom’s obsession for growing, just not with the usual houseplants. Growing up in DC, Aisha’s mom would take her and her sister to the museums and, when no one was looking, would snip off the stems and leaves of a few plants so she could root them at home.

“I think that’s where my love of plants started, from my mom stealing from the Smithsonian.”

Now living in Brooklyn, surrounded by people so much of the time, can be overwhelming. Aisha found herself needing some way to escape all of that commotion and plants were the answer.

“I have a lot of plants around me and whenever I’m feeling down or sad, I just kind of look over at my plant and it makes me feel a little better.” 

Visit Love & Paper NY online and follow Aisha’s Instagram.

This film is by Ben Rountree.

Produced by Ben Rountree.