---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have spoken to plants myself, and if…"
description: "\"I have spoken to plants myself, and if pressed for conclusions would have to say that those I threatened did better than those I - well, I wouldn't say..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/eleanor-perenyi-34833_conclusion_i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pr_321961.jpg"
---

#  I have spoken to plants myself, and if pressed for…

![“I have spoken to plants myself, and if pressed for conclusions would have to say that those I threatened did better than those I - well, I wouldn't say prayed over, but pleaded with, cajoled. A rhododendron that hadn't bloomed for six years was flatly told it would be removed the following year if…” quote by Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/eleanor-perenyi-34833_conclusion_i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pr_321961.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/eleanor-perenyi-34833_conclusion_i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pr_321961.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/eleanor-perenyi-34833_conclusion_i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pr_321961.jpg)

> “I have spoken to plants myself, and if pressed for conclusions would have to say that those I threatened did better than those I - well, I wouldn't say prayed over, but pleaded with, cajoled. A rhododendron that hadn't bloomed for six years was flatly told it would be removed the following year if there were no flowers. Need I say that it has bloomed profusely ever since?”

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Treating plants with firm expectations can motivate them to grow, suggesting that perceived pressure may stimulate biological responses.

**In simple terms:** Pressure can spur plant growth.

Key Takeaway

Use firm, caring encouragement with plants.

Themes

gardening plant care motivation

Mood

curious hopeful

Type

observational inspirational

When to use this quote

- home garden
- greenhouse
- vegetable patch
- flower bed

Key Concepts

Botany psychology of plants

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you think plants sense human emotions?
- How does expectation affect plant health?

A Different Perspective

Plants may not truly respond to human intent; growth could be coincidental.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/)

## Related quotes

> [“Less speed, less strength, less stamina since I hadn't "bloomed". But I'd bet I was outweighing everyone around me in the brain category.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lili-st-crow/less-speed-less-strength-less-stamina-since-i-hadn-t-bloomed-but-i-d/)

[Lili St. Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lili-st-crow/)

> [“The letter she was waiting for was no ordinary one. It contained a very special flower that bloomed only once in twelve years. Poovi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshini/the-letter-she-was-waiting-for-was-no-ordinary-one-it-contained-a/)

[Priyadarshini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshini/)

> [Ibn Taymiyyah lived poorly. He was imprisoned and threatened. But I have never seen anyone as happy as him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/ibn-taymiyyah-lived-poorly-he-was-imprisoned-and-threatened-but-i/)

[Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/)

> [Donald Trump threatened to file a defamation suit against me for running a TV ad that consisted only entirely of his own words on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/donald-trump-threatened-to-file-a-defamation-suit-against-me-for/)

[Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/)

> [My mother protected me from the world and my father threatened me with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/my-mother-protected-me-from-the-world-and-my-father-threatened-me/)

[Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/)

> [What makes me angry'is that it wasn't me who revealed that I had been with Osama Bin Laden. I originally denied being involved with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/what-makes-me-angry-is-that-it-wasn-t-me-who-revealed-that-i-had-been/)

[Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/)

> [No one seems to have learned, or can remember, the magic words that calm people when they are frightened or threatened: "I'm sorry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-tavris/no-one-seems-to-have-learned-or-can-remember-the-magic-words-that/)

[Carol Tavris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-tavris/)

> [A federal grand jury is investigating allegations that David Copperfield raped, assaulted and threatened a woman he took to his private island in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/a-federal-grand-jury-is-investigating-allegations-that-david/)

[Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/)

> [Americans have always had an ambivalent attitude toward intelligence. When they feel threatened, they want a lot of it, and when they don't, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/americans-have-always-had-an-ambivalent-attitude-toward-intelligence/)

[Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/)

> [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/)

Edward Lucie-Smith

> [New Jersey was threatened like no other region in this country and what we did was we took action within the constitution to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-christie/new-jersey-was-threatened-like-no-other-region-in-this-country-and/)

[Chris Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-christie/)

> [No matter how beautiful a woman might be, you're always threatened by certain... You're always threatened by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/no-matter-how-beautiful-a-woman-might-be-you-re-always-threatened-by/)

[Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/)

> [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable. To be negative at all times is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/to-be-positive-at-all-times-is-to-ignore-all-that-is-important-sacred/)

[Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/)

> [“They're threatened by you,' she said. 'You chose to do something they'd never have the gumption to choose for themselves. Being their own person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/they-re-threatened-by-you-she-said-you-chose-to-do-something-they-d/)

[Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/)

## More by Eleanor Perenyi

> [Sooner or later every gardener must face the fact that certain things are going to die on him. It is a temptation to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/sooner-or-later-every-gardener-must-face-the-fact-that-certain-things/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [A gift of flowers to a woman implies that she is as deliciously desirable as the blossoms themselves; but there may be another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/a-gift-of-flowers-to-a-woman-implies-that-she-is-as-deliciously/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [A garden is a private world or it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/a-garden-is-a-private-world-or-it-is-nothing/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [I love blue more than any other color. I am inordinately attracted to any blue substance: to minerals like turquoise and lapis lazuli, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-love-blue-more-than-any-other-color-i-am-inordinately-attracted-to/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [It takes a while to grasp that not all failures are self-imposed, the result of ignorance, carelessness or inexperience. It takes a while to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/it-takes-a-while-to-grasp-that-not-all-failures-are-self-imposed-the/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [To see things in black and white is to see the basics, and I would recommend to any designer of gardens that he go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/to-see-things-in-black-and-white-is-to-see-the-basics-and-i-would/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [September is the time to begin again. In the country, when I could smell the wood-smoke in the forest, and the curtains could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/september-is-the-time-to-begin-again-in-the-country-when-i-could/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [“I ordered a modern purple martin house myself and proceeded to construct a dreadful object: unpainted, it looked like a cheap motel; painted blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-ordered-a-modern-purple-martin-house-myself-and-proceeded-to/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [Or perhaps you notice a congregation of ladybugs on a rose stalk. Don't invoke the old nursery saying and ask them to fly away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/or-perhaps-you-notice-a-congregation-of-ladybugs-on-a-rose-stalk-don/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [Americans resent the vagaries of weather to a degree unknown to other peoples. ... Weather is a force we have lost touch with. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/americans-resent-the-vagaries-of-weather-to-a-degree-unknown-to-other/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [ \[Petunias are\] as hopelessly impractical as a chiffon ball dress. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/petunias-are-as-hopelessly-impractical-as-a-chiffon-ball-dress/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a painter with poor eyesight, and their gardens - his at Giverny in the Seine valley, hers in Surrey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter-with-poor-eyesight-and-their/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [To garden is to let optimism get the better of judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/to-garden-is-to-let-optimism-get-the-better-of-judgment/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

[Explore all 14 Eleanor Perenyi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

## More Conclusion quotes

> [I'm not going to be part of looking at information only partially. I'm not going to be part of just coming to quick conclusions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-cleland/i-m-not-going-to-be-part-of-looking-at-information-only-partially-i-m/)

[Max Cleland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-cleland/)

> [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/)

[Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/)

> [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/)

[Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/)

> [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [Your deeper sense isn’t a springboard; it’s a landing place. If you draw conclusions too quickly or too slowly, you’ll establish your self where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-deeper-sense-isn-t-a-springboard-it-s-a-landing-place-if-you/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/)

[Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/)

> [Every study on chocolate is pointing to the same conclusion: there is something in chocolate that is really good for us. That something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/every-study-on-chocolate-is-pointing-to-the-same-conclusion-there-is/)

[David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/)

> [I have come to the definite conclusion that musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinichi-suzuki/i-have-come-to-the-definite-conclusion-that-musical-ability-is-not-an/)

[Shinichi Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinichi-suzuki/)

> [Study how a society uses its land, and you can come to pretty reliable conclusions as to what its future will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/study-how-a-society-uses-its-land-and-you-can-come-to-pretty-reliable/)

[E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/)

> [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [That's what politics is. It's the story of what's happening, what does it mean, what's the conclusion, who are the interesting characters?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickerson/that-s-what-politics-is-it-s-the-story-of-what-s-happening-what-does/)

[John Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickerson/)

> [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/)

[Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/)

> [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/)

[Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/)

> [If you jump to conclusion you can't step on a clue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-santinello/if-you-jump-to-conclusion-you-can-t-step-on-a-clue/)

[James Santinello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-santinello/)

> [I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-escape-from-the-conclusion-that-the-great-ages-of-progress/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

[Browse all 1,619 Conclusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I have spoken to plants myself, and if pressed for conclusions would have to say that those I threatened did better than those I - well, I wouldn't say prayed over, but pleaded with, cajoled. A rhododendron that hadn't bloomed for six years was flatly told it would be removed the following year if there were no flowers. Need I say that it has bloomed profusely ever since?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eleanor Perenyi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pressed-for-conclusions-would/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conclusion"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pressed-for-conclusions-would/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/eleanor-perenyi-34833_conclusion_i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pr_321961.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/eleanor-perenyi-34833_conclusion_i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pr_321961.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/eleanor-perenyi-34833_conclusion_i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pr_321961.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I have spoken to plants myself, and if pressed for conclusions would have to say that those I threatened did…” — Eleanor Perenyi",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Eleanor Perenyi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I have spoken to plants myself,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pressed-for-conclusions-would/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pressed-for-conclusions-would/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
