Lim’s workshops allow guests to fully customise their terrariums (Photo: Little Eden Succulents)
Health is wealth, but maintaining one’s overall well-being requires more than a balanced diet and regular exercise. It is said that the body retains stress and, if left unchecked, pent-up tensions eventually froth up to the surface like a roiling boil and wreak havoc on the physical body. However, in a dog-eat-dog world, where hustling 24/7 is the norm, coping with pressure in reliable and healthy ways is easier said than done.
Lim Yee Zhing, founder of Little Eden Succulents, knows this well from her years of dealing with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), an incurable autoimmune condition that results in symptoms such as skin rashes, erosion of joints and even kidney failure. It is estimated at least five million people worldwide have the condition, which can be triggered by all kinds of environmental, genetic and hormonal factors.
Prior to her diagnosis in 2016, Lim had little knowledge about SLE and similar illnesses, attributing her initial symptoms to general fatigue and physical exertion. “Back then, my symptoms were on-and-off fevers that, in severe stages, would last about two weeks. I also had joint pain and inflammation that would arise in different body parts each day. I used to think it could be due to some unnoticed injuries, perhaps from overexercising, so I didn’t think too much about it. But then the pain got to a point where I had difficulty driving and completing daily tasks. That’s when I knew something really wasn’t right.”
To manage her “overactive immune system”, Lim was put on a round of medications, many of which came with unpleasant side effects such as facial puffiness and acne. She remembers a bleak period when she was constantly in and out of the hospital, battling kidney inflammation, scleritis, skin irritations and even severe hair loss. These ailments ate away at not only her ability to live life normally but also her mental health and confidence.
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The pills and treatments served only to curb symptoms when they arose, and to introduce sustainable improvement, Lim’s doctors believed a change of pace was needed. “It was suggested that I slow down my lifestyle,” she explains. “I previously worked as an architect, and while I wouldn’t say that career was particularly stressful for me, there were a lot of personal burdens I was placing on myself. I was not resting enough, and being 22 and new to the workforce, I didn’t know how to slow down.”
It was not until Lim discovered succulents and gardening that a possible solution presented itself. “While scrolling through my social media, I learnt about these plants, which were not yet popular in Malaysia at the time. I was really intrigued by them and I later learnt many have leaves that when plucked off, will grow into whole new plants.”
The resilience of these shrubs, which continue to flourish in even the harshest of conditions, inspired Lim and she set out to source some for herself and see where this new hobby would take her. The seed was planted and soon she noticed what a positive impact a little splash of green had on her life. “I diverted my focus from my illness to my plants and, while gardening, I found out what a healing effect succulents had. They helped me slow down. When I accidentally knocked some of the leaves off, they continued to grow, even without soil. I was reminded of how lively these little things were and wanted to be the same.”
With a new lease on life and her health finally stabilising, Lim began sharing more of her gardening and SLE story on social media and, in 2016, she left her architecture job and officially established Little Eden Succulents. The business sells house plants and succulents, and gardening tools and equipment, as well as hosts workshops where attendees can build their own terrariums. She now has three stores in the Klang Valley — in Eslite Spectrum, The Starhill and Empire Damansara.
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Beyond introducing people to the possibilities of gardening, the brand also serves as a platform to spread awareness about autoimmune disease and the importance of checking in with oneself. “Before I was diagnosed, I had no awareness of autoimmune illnesses. It was only after the pandemic that more of us took our mental well-being into consideration. I never knew before how much harm a stressful lifestyle could cause the body and how it can consume our health. Sometimes, we might feel like we get random headaches or muscle stiffness. We chalk it up to being tired, but these can often be signs of inflammation or something more serious happening in the body.”
Plants are not the only thing that continue to inspire Lim. “We meet many different people through the workshops and have all kinds of encounters, and I learnt through operating Little Eden Succulents to be all right with not having control over everything all the time,” she says.
Most potently, her journey with SLE and stepping into entrepreneurship showed her that perspective is everything. She recalls coming across other individuals online who shared their experiences with various chronic conditions and symptoms, which made her reflect on her own circumstances and adopt more hopeful, upbeat ways of thinking. “This entire experience taught me that life journeys do not need to be perfect. There might be certain times where we fall apart, but with different views and mindsets, we can still grow and thrive. We always have the choice to see our problems with different outlooks."
To discover more and book workshops, visit littleedensucculents.com.
This article first appeared on Sept 23, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
