Dysfunctional Planner

I went shopping not long ago and bought some houseplants. Two of my plants were looking sad. So I bought two booster plants to pop in the old plants to fill them out and two completely new plants. I can’t wait to watch them grow and thicken.

Having plants in your home is part of biophilia, balancing the chaos of technology with the harmony and meditative energy of nature.

I bought:

• A split leaf philodendron (Monstera deliciosa) to replace my sad looking one. I popped it outside and it got burned and disintegrated till I have one tiny sad looking leaf left. they without me noticing it grew another leaf. I am going to pop them in the same pot and hop they thrive.
• A string of hearts (Ceropegia woodii) I bought my original one on Amazon and I won’t be buying plants online again. They need to be chosen by hand. Mine is sad and stringy so I again I bought it to fill it up.
• String of pearls (Curio Rowleyanus) I have wanted one for years… I just never found one in stores and then I found a teenie tiny one in the garden Center and I couldn’t resist.
• Asparagus fern ( Asparagus aethiopicus) this is the softest delicate and I can’t get enough of it’s leaves ( are they called leaves?) I mistakenly called it aBoston fern which is fuller more traditional fern.

What am I putting them in? Well my new monstera is joining my original plant to keep her company it’s a diary large white ceramic pot so there will be plenty of room. I may have to add some well drained soil. My string of hearts is going in my pot that has a face as I wanted it to look like hair.

My father in law made me a plant pot! He just made it because he thought I would like it and has offered to make a few more, how cool is that. It’s perfect for my string of pearls. I popped a plastic bag at the bottom to stop the water from rotting the wood but it’s really cute.

As for my fern

I am reusing an old candle jar that I loved. It’s a brown glass and nice and heavy. It’s better than chucking it out and it suits the fern. I have wanted these plants for many years and buying little tiny version means I get to learn how to look after them.

I have learned a few things about house plants over the years so my top tips are:

1. Tropical house plants generally grow in well drained soil
2. Even though some of them are rainforest plants that doesn’t mean they like a lot of water. It’s easy to kill them with too much. If your leaves turn yellow it’s generally too much water
3. It’s better to treat them mean that included day light too
4. When it comes to repotting with plants that like to be root bound just go a size up. If you go too big they won’t thank you for it
5. Your plants are your friends so talk to them, mist them, wipe their leaves down and appreciate them.

It brings me a bit of biophilic harmony to have four new plants in my home.