The first passage is a weird mixed metaphor. I think the part before the semicolon is relatively straightforward. The force of mind is a plant (though, who ever

The first passage is a weird mixed metaphor. I think the part before the semicolon is relatively straightforward. The force of mind is a plant (though, who ever heard of a plant thriving in adverse soil but not in a prosperous flower bed?). The part after the semicolon refers to the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet, and now the mind is a person whose natural red-cheeked bravery and decisiveness have become pale because of the illness of money. It is bad writing.