In high school, my music teacher taught us that if you are going to make a mistake, do it with conviction.

What he meant by that was that if our mistakes sounded sheepish and tentative, we were most likely playing sheepishly and tentatively, which ruined the overall effect of the performance.

But, if our mistakes were loud and obvious, then most likely we were playing with conviction, which enhanced the entire performance. Oddly enough, audience members were much more forgiving when a mistake was done with conviction.

The same is true with growing carnivorous plants. Your confidence in providing the right growing environment will show in your plants. If you grow them sheepishly and tentatively, they will grow sheepishly and tentatively. If you grow them with conviction, they will grow with conviction.

Even if you accidentally provide the wrong growing environment and the plant dies, it is not the end of the world. The Carnivorous Plant Police will not come out to arrest you. You will not face a federal court and have to spend 5 months in Club Cupcake.

Even with our horticultural skills, do plants die on us? Yes. But, we learn from our mistakes and move on. No one looks down on us because of our mistakes. Why? Because our beautiful carnivorous plants far outnumber those that didn't make it.

Many varieties of carnivorous plants are very winter hardy. We have Venus Flytraps that have been growing exclusively outdoors for nearly 10 years! We provide them with no special care other than full sun and a tray of standing water. They grow well for us because we grow them with conviction.

So, grow carnivorous plants with conviction. Over time, you too will have healthy and beautiful plants you can be proud of.

If you need a pep talk for growing carnivorous plants, visit www.cobraplant.com /pep-talk.html. It's a personalized and fun way to boost your confidence level when growing carnivorous plants!