Inspiration and imagination come together in one of Lim’s terrarium designs on display at her shop in Petaling Jaya.
Sturdy plants inspire SLE warrior to conduct workshops on terrarium therapy
IN the heart of a bustling city, a former architect found herself drowning amid the concrete jungle, all while fighting an invisible enemy, an autoimmune disease called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).
The light at the end of the tunnel was when Lim Yee Zhing found solace in the world of succulents.
“I truly believe there’s power in connecting with nature and that plants can heal souls – providing us with essential messages that we often overlook in our daily lives,” she reflected.
Lim, 31, has been on this succulent plant learning journey for about eight years while contending with SLE, a disease that caused her immune system to attack her tissues, resulting in widespread inflammation and tissue damage.
SLE brought a variety of symptoms and Lim endured pain in her joints, on-and-off fever, inflammation in her eyes and ears, severe hair loss and kidney problems.
“The causes of SLE are unknown,” she said.
“It could be environmental, genetic, hormonal factors or a prolonged period of stress.
Lim (left) sharing her skills during a workshop which she uses to raise awareness about how stress can affect physical and mental health. — Photos: YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
“It was such a traumatic process. Every time I thought the pain was unbearable, it got worse the next day.”
She also shared that the amount of hair she lost each day was “crazy”.
“It made me feel so ugly.
“Feeling depressed, I didn’t dare step out of my house other than on trips to the hospital and I refused to interact with others for months,” Lim added.
The journey of dealing with SLE prompted her to re-evaluate her lifestyle after years of being in high-stress mode because of her work in the architecture field.
“That is when I started raising succulents,” she said.
Lim learned that succulents could survive even with a single leaf.
“I told myself that perhaps my situation wasn’t so bad after all.
“If succulents can survive with only one leaf, there must be more possibilities for me,” she said.
With newfound hope and encouragement from her succulent babies, she returned to the workforce, wearing a wig and a hat, and feeling slightly more confident.
Lim’s childhood love of making handicrafts and displaying them in glass cases gave her the idea to create terrariums.
Lim also discovered that she could propagate a single succulent into many plants.
“Since then, the idea of gifting succulents to my loved ones popped up in my mind, but I wanted it to be unique,” she said.
“I used to love making handicrafts and displaying them in glass cases when I was a child as I found the little world inside the glass mesmerising.”
That planted a seed in her mind – to put succulents into glass cases, creating terrariums.
“Sending a living plant is much more meaningful compared to sending fresh flowers.
“What’s even more rewarding is that you get to care for the plant and sustain its life for years.”
From then on, Lim started to share tips and knowledge on her platform, Little Eden Succulents (LES), including methods to revive dying plants.
“I hope to save more dying succulents, just as they have saved me,” she said.
Awed by succulents’ ability to survive, Lim learned to better deal with her SLE diagnosis.
Aside from selling them as gifts, Lim has conducted workshops since 2016 to share her knowledge and experiences.
“I wish to raise public awareness about how stress can affect our physical and mental health in the long run, and that is why they are named Succulent Therapy Workshops.
“During the workshop, people can experience the therapeutic effect of creating terrariums and watching them grow and flourish,” she said.
The workshops are held at LES plant shops – two situated in Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya in Selangor, and one at a shopping centre in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
Today, Lim and her group of enthusiasts are known as Malaysia’s first group of succulent terrarium specialists.
They also provide lifetime consultation for plants purchased from their shops.
“We hope to spread love, joy and warmth to all who receive our terrariums or visit our shops,” she said.
“We want to create a space for people to engage with plants, not just to watch them grow but to also grow with them.”
Dealing with illness was difficult, Lim said, but having a hobby made hard times easier and having something to look forward to each day made her feel alive.
