Saturday, February 26, 2011

Life with plants

Indoor plants certainly add a vibrancy and joy to a home, but getting them to stay happy has never been my forté.
I have had a black thumb (Urban dictionary: A wannabe gardener who kills plants, opposite of a green thumb) my whole life. I want to change that so instead of avoiding plants I am submerging myself in them, making it my goal to keep all of them or at least most of them alive indoors.
As of today we have 8 indoor potted plants, I took a photo inventory of them to share and to see with luck if they would look the same in a few months. I have had a few of them for a while now but most of these are brand new, due to all the great hardware store sales they are having lately I bought some last week and today our local store was 20% off of everything! So I bought a few more challenges to add to our home.

Maidenhair Ferns
These two beauties are a plant that I have been coveting for months now. At just a couple bucks a piece today I couldn't pass up the chance, and if they don't make it I won't feel too bad, after all they are ferns. I haven't had luck with a fern in... um ever!


Keeping them in this frosted window and in the bathroom off our laundry room might be their only chance of survival. Humidity is supposed to be their friend, so here goes nothing. Aren't they beautiful though?


Zebra Haworthia
These aloe like little succulents grow great indoors and don't need quite as much direct sun as a lot of other succulents do. I got the one on the right about 2 weeks ago, and picked up the blooming one today. I didn't even know they bloomed!


Check out the tiny and odd little white flowers on this Zebra plant.



Giant Bird of Paradise
Although beautiful with just the leaves the flowers of bird of paradise is one of my favorites. Sadly my plant will probably never bloom indoors and its too cold here in the winter to plant it outside. I am happy to say I have had this plant over a year and its doing well.



ZZ plant
These Zamioculcas plants are supposed to be "idiot proof" indoor plants, I got it about a month ago from my mom and lets hope that what they say is true and it stays around. I just love the hardy and shiny green leaves.



Bromeliad
I love these and even if 3 years ago I successfully murdered one just like it, I plan to keep this one around at least for a bit. It was only $3 at home depot and SO beautiful. I love the color it brings into the house.




Snake Plant
Or what I like to call, Old Faithful. Also known as Mother in-laws tongue. This plant is great, it is happy no matter where I put it in the house, it grows. I can't kill it, not that I would want to.
It was the perfect gift from my mother in law to a beginner over a year and half ago. I am calling this one a success, which may sound premature at only a year and half, but in black thumb years that like decades.



Outside I also have some fun stuff to share. This succulent has been sending off these shoots with little blooms on it for weeks.




And I finally got tired of buying the same herbs at the grocery store for cooking and planted my own. Here I just planted sage, cilantro, and basil. I have also been growing thyme, mint and rosemary for a while.



Baxter also got a little treat from today's sale, a new toy for him to dismantle. Its his favorite pass time, besides eating.


I hope this encourages more plant killers like me to try at it again. I went a long time without plants and I now feel confidant to try it again with new ones. If there are any indoor plants that you have had great luck with please share them with me... just in case some of the ones above don't make it!

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