There are crazy cat ladies, crazy dog ladies (if you knew about the number of dogs I try to rescue on the daily, you would think this was me lol), and I’ve even heard of crazy coupon ladies. Well, what about crazy plant ladies? Do those exist? The answer is yes. Yes they do.
Those of you who know me, or have been to my house, know I love my plants. At the moment, I have a total of 17 house plants in my cute little 3 bedroom rancher. You know you’re a crazy plant lady when you think, “ONLY 17…I definitely need a few more. An even 20 seems better, right?”
Well, today I am going to show off some of my plants + share a little more about how + why I love them so much.
I got my first house plant when Eric + I bought our house in Gloucester back in 2013. My in-laws came to visit to help us get settled. During their stay, my MIL + I went shopping for plants because they were going to help us with our flower beds outside. We looked around, found some gorgeous knock-out roses, a crepe myrtle, some hostas, and liriope. While we were shopping for the flower beds, I asked Connie for some house plant wisdom. I knew some greenery would really make the house feel homey + she is the plant expert.
When I say she is the expert – I mean it. I have learned my skills, which are small in comparison, from the master. Connie far exceeds my crazy plant lady status, but I aspire to reach her level one day. She has a total of 38 house plants. Now that’s what I’m talking about!! I do think I need to get her two more so she can have an even 40 lol. Mother’s day is right around the corner. Connie can take the smallest little dying plant + bring it back to life. She can make anything grow. She is even growing an PINEAPPLE as we speak. She has a hibiscus tree from my wedding in 2012. She even has a schefflera plant from when Billy (my FIL) was in college!! Her green thumb reminds me so much of Cheryl, my stepmom, who passed when I was in college. Cheryl also had a green thumb + I swear she could make a stick grow. Our Florida room (aka: sun room) was filled with plants. I always loved the hanging plants she had in there. She also had a Christmas cactus that would bloom 2 and 3 times a year. Then let’s not even get started on the flower beds. You’ve never seen hostas + azaleas that big. She was constantly splitting the hostas and giving them away to people who were dying for a piece of her garden. I’m slowly but surely working my way up to their green thumb level!
Okay, back to my very first house plant. Connie suggested that I start with a pothos plant. This plant is GREAT for beginners. It’s very easy to grow + hard to kill! It loves sunlight and it will grow long vines that make it a beautiful plant for your mantle, on top of cabinets, or anywhere it’s vines have space to grow.
I still have this little guy! Only, it’s not so little anymore!! It started off as a small plant that had no vines no bigger than the pot. Now, it is HUGE with vines that are over 7ft long! Over the years, this plant has survived 4 job changes (between Eric + I), 1 move, + 1 puppy. Watch out! These guys are poisonous to pups, so make sure you keep them away from your fur babies! Puppies chew on everything, so we kept ours on top of our kitchen cabinet when Macy was a baby to ensure she never messed with it.
(P.S. that built in hutch was once the color of the shelves! This was one of the first DIY reno projects I completed in this house + it turned out GREAT! I kept the original hardware + painted them black. Leaving the shelves their original color really added a warm pop of color. Also – the wooden framed sign you see – my awesome sister + BIL made it for me for Christmas! They’ve got skills!)
I love that this plant reminds me where Eric + I started and how much we’ve grown. A lot has happened in the last 5 1/2 years – we got married, bought a house, learned how to manage a budget together, rescued a puppy, changed jobs, moved, turned our house into a rental property, started a business, started investing…really – adulting is what has happened over the last 5+ years. A whole lot of adulting! My little plant reminds me of it all + I LOVE it.
Now that you know what sparked my crazy plant ladyness – I’ll share some perks to having house plants + a few tricks of the trade that will set you up to care for you own.
Let’s start with some perks!
Now that you know why house plants are AWESOME – here are few tricks of the trade; most of which I learned from my amazing MIL, Connie.
(This is an example of the white crust! I gave this guy a nice scrub after I took this picture, even though it does look pretty cool with the white residue lol).
Now that you know I am a crazy plant lady, how I came to be one, and learned a few tips + tricks to get you started on your own journey to being plant obsessed- I will leave you with a little metaphor because there is a metaphor to life in almost everything, right….
Caring for plants is much like caring for your marriage. You need to water + nourish your plants regularly if you want them to thrive. The same is true for your marriage – you can’t just sit back + expect your marriage to flourish on it’s own. Just because you said I do, doesn’t mean you’re done. There are times when you need water more + time when you need to water less. Times when you need to give your pot a good scrub to get it to shine again. You get the picture – you’ve got to nourish your marriage regularly if you want it to thrive.
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