There’s always a favorite. By the brilliant Becky Barnicoat.
P.S. Hanging plants and yoga poses for parents.
There’s always a favorite. By the brilliant Becky Barnicoat.
P.S. Hanging plants and yoga poses for parents.
Wait what type of plant is the favorite? Looks aot like my prayer plant that keeps reverting to brown crinkly leaves no matter what i do
omg same!
I am not someone who names inanimate objects like cars (and it was a turnoff whenever I met a guy in college who “introduced” me to his car), but I did name one, just one, plant. Jorge. Pronounced George but with a longer o. Jorge is a spineless prickly pear, who when I bought him, resembled sculpture, with five dramatic paddles–the centerpiece to my experiment at a xeriscaped front garden. The next spring, he put on 50 new paddles only to be blasted by arctic cold a year ago, and as a result, lose all 50 paddles. I cut them all off, all 50 new paddles, before they blackened and rotted, hoping my drastic surgery would save his life. This year, he’s back, a survivor, with 50 NEW baby paddles and I feel like a proud mom. Cheers to you, Jorge!
Go Jorge!
Hahaha, totally relatable. Thank you for the smile and laugh.
We have a plant that my kid named Gordon bc we didn’t know wtf it’s called, but needed to call it something. So we have the clovers, the spider plants, the jade, the aloe, the Christmas Cactus… and Gordon.
I thought my Pink Princess would be my star but I can’t tear my attention from the Begonia Maculata. I have 30 plants in my bathroom alone, no idea how many in total, maybe 200. I cannot have children so it’s satisfying to see their progress each day 😌
This! My partner was just cooking pancakes for our son (a Saturday morning ritual) and I grabbed my little jug of water and said to him “I guess I’ll get to work feeding our other children” aka the 12 indoor plants! I actually love that they all have their own unique needs, it definitely keeps it interesting. I read that tending to something, even just one indoor plant, can be super beneficial to your mental health. I also read that plants grow better when they’re complimented so I always make sure to say kind things to help their confidence (sounds wild but I really think it helps!). Don’t be disheartened if you’re struggling with a plant, pivot and try something new (different position in the home, more compliments, new pot) and see what happens. Much like actual parenting it’s all just trial and error, none of us truly know what we’re doing.
I love it!
Having a green thumb is something I’ve always wished to have. I cannot keep a plant alive. Am I watering too much? Too little? Is it getting the right amount of sun? It’s all a mystery to me. With 4 young kids & a dog to take care of, plants will have to wait. I am excited to turn my black thumb green in the future!
I had a small plant in a container I had on my desk at school. One of my students placed in the pot. After it started to sprout, I took it home and placed it in a pot on my deck. Later I found out it was a marijuana plant. It was cute, but had to destroy it.
Hahahahahaha
I was completely spellbound by a Persian Shield with stunning purple leaves at the nursery. Pretty much from the getgo she’s been causing me endless angst as I can’t seem to please her. She used to grow these massive leaves (although I have never been able to get that initial amazing hue) but then they’d curl and brown. I researched… more light, less light, pebble bath, more water, less water. Now I’ve got long stems with tiny leaves – also curling and brown. I’m about to give up. Perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be.
For anyone struggling with an especially thirsty plant, try a terracotta watering spike! They come in different sizes, and for larger plants you can attach a glass bottle full of water but we use ours without it. We just stuck the spike into our thirstiest plant, with about 2/3 of the spike buried in the soil – we water the soil as usual once a week, and also fill the spike up to the top. As the soil dries out it draws the water out of the spike to keep the plant happy. We live in a dry but cool climate, so you may need to adjust watering/fill up frequency depending on your situation but it’s a game changer!!
When I go on vacation I put all my upstairs plants in one bathroom and all my downstairs plants on the dining room table. Makes it easy for my teenage cat sitter to water them and not miss any. I call it plant camp and they always look better when I get back. I think they like it!
❤️
I took all of my houseplants outside yesterday to soak up some of the beautiful sunshine and when I came back in the house felt so sterile and cold without them! I’ve killed quite a few plants over the last decade or so and finally feel like I’ve started to get a hang of it in the last few years.
For those who struggle in the houseplant care arena, I’ve actually found that the houseplant subreddit (of all places!) is really helpful. People are really willing to share their knowledge and there’s some really gorgeous plant pics to inspire. https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/
Ha! This is so true. My favorite is my rubber tree.
I just received a plant–Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!–and I am wondering if, given my track record of killing everything with chlorophyll (including mint), it wouldn’t be kinder to just “forget” it in the faculty room until someone with a greener thumb takes pity. Or–maybe *this one* will be different!
I want to be a plant mom but I am bad at keeping plants alive. Even plants that allegedly don’t require much care. I used to have an aloe plant named Grendel and I miss them.
My plants are doing average….not great, not bad. But my cat, Ed, is obsessed with eating the one (dracaena) hanging one he can get to………..WTF?!?!?!?! lmao incessant chump
I have 40-ish plants and my cat absolutely love them. She eats a lot of them, smell them, just sits in them. She’s an outdoors cat so I don’t understand the obsession. Silly little creatures.
My plants are all so beautiful in their own ways. I love them all. But my impatiens is sooooo dramatic! If it has gone five minutes too long without water, it slumps over. If it could, I’m sure it would be heavy sighing! Within an hour of watering it perks right back up! It’s hilarious!
I have a heartbreaker of a Rex Begonia that trails down my super-tall bookcase like one of Edward Gorey’s swooning damsels, and he is perpetually feigning death. As I water and mist I sing “Rex Begonia” to the tune of the Eagles’ “Desperado” – he better let somebody love him.
This comment is hilarious.
Love this imagery
OmG! So true!
Yes, and my Fittonia. My drama queen. The slightest bit parched and she heads for the fainting couch.
Ha ha ha! Those three sentences read like a novel!
I love all my plants (maybe some more than others), but my 3 year old apparently has a plant nemesis. As soon as I brought this one plant home, he had it out for this poor thing. He’s literally taken bites out of it. He’s never paid any of the other plants ant attention, but he’s determined to take this one out.
My bird of paradise has grown 2 feet since January! So I’ve been teasingly calling her my teenager all week, since she’s taller than me now. Can’t believe she’s growing up so fast! :sob:
I love bird of paradise.
My Bird of Paradise is my favourite plant, her name is Betty. In the spring she starts producing on an average of 3 new leaves.