Couple of House Plants
I would consider my taste simplistic, especially when it comes to my home. I like low lighting and calm. I like earthy tones. I love textures with the caveat being that they’re soft, elegant textures. I like just a simple pop of color somewhere in the room. But overall, I want my home to reflect what I find: lovely, gentle, and cozy.
Growing up, my mom always had a plethora, I mean a PLETHORA of fake plants in our house. So much so, when she’d swap out the older seasonal fake plants with the newer seasonal fake plants in the walk-in attic, it looked like she could open an entire Hobby Lobby, herself. I hated it. I don’t know why, but I’ve just never liked fake plants. Maybe it’s because these fake plants are pretending to be something they’re not. Don’t get me wrong, there are m a n y beautiful, fake plants out there. I just won’t own any haha. Sorry, mom!
Is it just me? I’ve always loved when a home has real, live, beautiful plants and I wanted to see if I could try my hand at something like that, but I’m the furthest thing from a green thumb and as you can tell from my mom’s fake plant store in the attic, I got that honestly. So, I began to do my research and decided I was going to get on board with the plants, even if I had to accidentally kill a few before I found my niche. I hopped over to Google and before I knew it, I stumbled on articles and blogs that talked about uneven or bad lighting, dismal corners, and the best, lowest maintenance house plants—all of which was a great read, for my house.
Naturally, instead of driving five miles to Home Depot, I got on Amazon, perused the plants and found a sweet little $25 dollar plant called: “Snake Plant / Mother-In-Law’s Tongue”. The particular one that I chose only stood 15 inches, but perfect size for me to try. These plants are exceptionally tough and hearty—I learned. And, two days later this little plant arrived on my doorstep. Currently, it’s sitting on my entertainment center with only the light that comes into the front windows and minimally watering. I’ve had him now for about six months and he’s still growing and thriving with little sunlight.
My second plant is my most proud plant. “Little Phil” or Philodendron, is a beautiful lush plant that has grown twice the size that I’ve had him, in four months. I had my eye on him when I had was in a local flower shop near my house. Looking too cute to leave, I had to have him, and he was about $35 dollars. Little Phil now sits on the other side of my entertainment center, opposite of my Snake Plant. I specifically do what the florist said when she told me to just put the plant in the sink and let a fast drip from the faucet, for 3-4 hours. He’s quite lush and beautiful.
My third houseplant was a little succulent that I had received from some traveling house guests. They brought me this adorable little plant for letting them stay in my guest room, but it was rough from the start. The succulent began losing his petals near the soil. This went slowly at first, then one after the other, the petals all fell off all the way towards the top. So, after trying to talk to him and see if I could research how to fix him, he still died a few months later.
In the months that I’ve become a plant owner, I’ve felt like my house has felt more homey and I even talk to my plants. I make sure that they’re seeing adequate sun, by moving them to where the sun will hit, first thing in the morning…and I think they’re happy. My little succulent didn’t make it, but I’ll probably get another plant in the near future. If you’re thinking about trying your hand at plants soon, check out either a Snake Plant or a Little Philodendron. I promise I’m not a whiz at keeping up with plants, but these two have made me feel like quite a champion and I’m almost to Tess status (whom I’m told has over two dozen plants in her place in Atlanta). And ps. if you recommend a plant, let us know! We’d love to hear what you have growing, or any tips you’d like to share! Happy Green-thumbing!