--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The steps, also brick, were lined on both…" description: "\"“The steps, also brick, were lined on both sides with potted plants. Grandma grew lemongrass, citronella, and catnip in those pots to keep mosquitoes a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/rhonda-mcknight-62863_gardening_the-steps-also-brick-were-lined-on-both_1396159.jpg" --- # The steps, also brick, were lined on both sides with… ![“The steps, also brick, were lined on both sides with potted plants. Grandma grew lemongrass, citronella, and catnip in those pots to keep mosquitoes and other annoying bugs away. And it worked. Their porch had been a source of bite-free enjoyment for my whole childhood.” quote by Rhonda McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/rhonda-mcknight-62863_gardening_the-steps-also-brick-were-lined-on-both_1396159.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/rhonda-mcknight-62863_gardening_the-steps-also-brick-were-lined-on-both_1396159.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/rhonda-mcknight-62863_gardening_the-steps-also-brick-were-lined-on-both_1396159.jpg) > ““The steps, also brick, were lined on both sides with potted plants. Grandma grew lemongrass, citronella, and catnip in those pots to keep mosquitoes and other annoying bugs away. And it worked. Their porch had been a source of bite-free enjoyment for my whole childhood.”” [Rhonda McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-mcknight/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author describes a childhood porch protected by aromatic plants that repelled insects, creating a safe, enjoyable space. **In simple terms:** Plants kept bugs away, making the porch pleasant. Key Takeaway Use natural repellents for outdoor comfort. Themes childhood nature comfort Mood nostalgic peaceful Type descriptive personal When to use this quote - home gardening - outdoor gatherings - family memories Key Concepts botany environmental design Questions to Reflect On - How do sensory environments affect childhood memories? - What other natural solutions can improve outdoor spaces? A Different Perspective Natural repellents may not work for all insects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Insects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insects/) [Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) ## Related quotes > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [If the auto plants in Detroit would just sit around the table and say, 'What do we gotta do to make this thing work?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-devos/if-the-auto-plants-in-detroit-would-just-sit-around-the-table-and-say/) [Richard M. DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-devos/) > [I'm in the woods so much I can tell you which plants are edible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-trevino/i-m-in-the-woods-so-much-i-can-tell-you-which-plants-are-edible/) [Lee Trevino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-trevino/) > [“ One day is not enough to watch a tree, one life is not enough to love a tree. I wonder when i see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karthikeyan-v/one-day-is-not-enough-to-watch-a-tree-one-life-is-not-enough-to-love/) Karthikeyan V > [Plants are as responsive to thought as children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/plants-are-as-responsive-to-thought-as-children/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [All the plants in my house are dead - I shot them last night. I was teasing them by watering them with ice cubes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-the-plants-in-my-house-are-dead-i-shot-them-last-night-i-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is it philosophical, is it quite allowable, to assume without evidence from fossil plants that the family or any of the genera was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/is-it-philosophical-is-it-quite-allowable-to-assume-without-evidence/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Part of my plan was not only to introduce all useful animals that I possibly could into this part of Australia, but also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grey/part-of-my-plan-was-not-only-to-introduce-all-useful-animals-that-i/) [George Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grey/) > [Promoting the use of sustainable and renewable rainforest products can help to stop rainforest devastation. The rainforests are much more valuable alive than cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/promoting-the-use-of-sustainable-and-renewable-rainforest-products/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/when-i-heard-that-the-bees-were-in-trouble-the-fact-that-they-re/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [“There is a time and place for electromagnetic shielding and I regard it as a last resort due to the long term biological problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-is-a-time-and-place-for-electromagnetic-shielding-and-i-regard/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The plants look up to heaven, from whence they have their nourishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-plants-look-up-to-heaven-from-whence-they-have-their-nourishment/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To smile at the jest which plants a thorn in another's breast is to become a principal in the mischief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/to-smile-at-the-jest-which-plants-a-thorn-in-another-s-breast-is-to/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) ## More by Rhonda McKnight > [“She was just kind and genuine. Pure, even. I hated that her good heartedness and naivety were going to cost her so dearly because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-mcknight/she-was-just-kind-and-genuine-pure-even-i-hated-that-her-good/) [Rhonda McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-mcknight/) > [“Maybe the lawyer could get your divorce dealt with in another county." "A change of venue for a divorce? You watch too much television."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-mcknight/maybe-the-lawyer-could-get-your-divorce-dealt-with-in-another-county/) [Rhonda McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-mcknight/) > [“I was determined not to let my physical needs get me into emotional trouble”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-mcknight/i-was-determined-not-to-let-my-physical-needs-get-me-into-emotional/) [Rhonda McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-mcknight/) > [“I’m on the side of your marriage like any good friend is going to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-mcknight/i-m-on-the-side-of-your-marriage-like-any-good-friend-is-going-to-be/) [Rhonda McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-mcknight/) [Explore all 5 Rhonda McKnight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-mcknight/) ## More Gardening quotes > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [There was a product on late night TV that you could attach to your garden hose - "You can water your hard-to-reach plants with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/there-was-a-product-on-late-night-tv-that-you-could-attach-to-your/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Love and work are to people what water and sunshine are to plants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/love-and-work-are-to-people-what-water-and-sunshine-are-to-plants/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“A flower needs the rain to grow just as much as it needs the sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/a-flower-needs-the-rain-to-grow-just-as-much-as-it-needs-the-sunshine/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [“Mr. Grote shows me how he grows wild rice in the stream and collects the seeds. The rice is nutty and brown. He plants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/mr-grote-shows-me-how-he-grows-wild-rice-in-the-stream-and-collects/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [I must hurry back to my house and my flowers in Monaco.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillie-langtry/i-must-hurry-back-to-my-house-and-my-flowers-in-monaco/) [Lillie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillie-langtry/) > [“Look for light Listen for inspiration on the wind Let water cleanse your soul Set yourself on a firm foundation Serve as the plants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anasazi-foundation/look-for-light-listen-for-inspiration-on-the-wind-let-water-cleanse/) Anasazi Foundation [Browse all 5,790 Gardening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The steps, also brick, were lined on both sides with potted plants. 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