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Sparkle (0)
I am one of those plant people. The annoying kind. I pick dead leaves off of other people's plants. I poke my finger into pots to check water levels. I walk into houses and immediately notice the lack of green. I'm a Plant Pusher. Take it from me -- once you go plants, you don't go back.
Since it's November, my focus has shifted. I've quit watering the outdoor garden. It's dying a slow and painful death. And even though I have to LOOK AWAY when I walk up my front stairs, I smile once I get inside. I've created an indoor plant wonderland over the years, and you should, too. I mean it. It's not hard, and it's extremely rewarding. For those of you who love indoor plants as well, you will understand. But for those of you who "kill plants" and "can't keep anything alive" and "don't need another mouth to feed" -- listen up! You can do it!
(Disclaimer: Before we begin, I want to point out that some plants are toxic to humans and/or pets. For example, DO NOT EVER put an Easter Lily in your home if you have a cat. Before making a purchase, research the toxicity levels online to make sure no one gets sick. That being said, I've had a viner that is toxic to cats for 10 years. I keep it up high enough that we all are happy. Now let's get down to bizness.)
There are many types of indoor plants to choose from. Some need a lot of care, and some don't. The easiest way to figure out what works best for you is to start small. Buy two or three $5 plants and see if they die within a month. If they do, don't buy that kind anymore. I've killed TONS of plants in my day. That's OK. Just because you kill one doesn't mean you'll kill them all. Some plants are just pickier than others.
The plants that work for me?
Viners. This vining plant gets a haircut every six months. I take the little pieces that I've cut off, grow new roots for them in water, and give them away to friends. It barely needs light and gets watered once a week. Easy as pie:
This is a Wandering Jew (not my favorite plant name). It kicks out a HUGE amount of vines. I also have to give this one haircuts from time to time. It now hangs near a south-facing window because it wanted more sun:
I have a few different pieces of lotus bamboo around my house. They don't seem to need light, so I'm able to put them in relatively dark places. I switch out the water every few weeks.
If you are really bad at remembering to water something, pick up a few aloe or jade plants. They like to be in windows, don't drink very much, and the aloe is AWESOME on a burn or blister:
I got these plants as a gift. I was unable to figure out their water/sun system, so they croaked. But they were sure purty while they lasted:
I also have a huge thing for orchids. I have them in different locations around the house. Like on the wall:
And in the kitchen:
And in the office:
Each winter, I get all jazzed up about my amaryllis. I love this stage the best -- the big bud:
I even bring in some of the plants from outside. I had a beautiful passion flower vine one summer that I wanted to keep, but I knew it would freeze in the Iowa winter. I hacked it back to make it tiny and put it in my home office. All winter, it grew up the wall:
I also brought in an outdoor fuchsia, which rested peacefully in the home office until spring when it burst back to life. And you can always get started early when you itch in the spring for green things. I started these dahlia bulbs when there was still snow on the ground last year:
