I'm pretty sure I've always had a soft spot for cacti and succulents. Back in 1993 I remember going crazy over hen and chicks at my uncle's house and promptly making my mom and grandma plant a whole bunch in their own gardens once we got home. I've probably toned it down a bit since then, but I still really enjoy their amazingly bizarre greenery and neato different species that make them a cool set of plants. Plus they're apparently really easy to take care of and grow at home (although it isn't completely fool proof...trust me).
Last year I ended up taking a succulent class at the university horticulture centre where I learned all about these cool little guys and got to make a planter of my very own! I was extra enthused about becoming an amazing succulent gardener and loved taking care of my new family of plants I got to take home from the course:
Oh! Don't they look lovely? As time went on (and summer ended and I had to bring these babies inside), I quickly realized that I sort of stink at taking care of plants and a bunch of them died. Well...most of them died actually. My friends always tell me what an amazing gardener I am with my jungle of houseplants I keep in my living room but I'm afraid the secret is out. I'm not actually that great at keeping things alive - but I am really good at buying new plants and then repotting my planters to make them look like I didn't kill them all. Yep. No more lies. I've got a black thumb.
I seem to be doing the "swap out the dead plants" game every few months and although potting plants is a wonderful hobby I'm enjoying (and getting pretty good at), I am increasingly drawn to the world of felt succulents I've been seeing so much of on the internet. I mean look at this fantastic arrangement made by miasole on etsy (link):
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Now those are some stunning succulents - and you can't even kill them! Oh what a brilliant idea! I am always a sucker for a good felt project and with the supplies just kicking around I'm definitely adding this one to the "to craft" list. I'm highly doubting my creations will be as amazing as miasole's, but I like to put a good attempt in before calling it quits. I'll let you know how it goes. I will also have to take a picture of the one succulent from that planter I showed you that seems to be thriving in my "neglectful to all things living" environment. Any master succulent growers out there? How do you keep your plants from dying off?
In other news, tonight I realized that in 2014 I wrote a whopping 6 blog posts. That is a good 360 fewer posts than many of my previous years and I'd really like to meet somewhere in between that 6 and 360 post range. Seems doable right? We shall see. This is a good start right?
I have one plant. It sits on my desk at work. I keep it alive by having the recptionist water it, and enticing the older ladies to trim it from time to time.
ReplyDeleteSo I need to find garden saavy friends to trick into fixing my plants then? I think the fake felt ones may be a more plausible option. I'm not sure good friendships start with conning them to do things for you - but what do I know.
DeleteOoo, that felt version is lovely! I do like your real plants as well though ^___^ I am a bit terrible at keeping plants in pots and/or inside; normally I just stick them in the ground and let them fend for themselves ~___^ I am currently experimenting with growing a cactus in a pot in my kitchen though ... it's been alive for a couple of weeks so hopefully I can keep that going! ^___^
ReplyDeleteGood for you Lisa! I have a few plants that I've magically managed to keep alive so there is hope for us with black thumbs! I've heard the number one reason for killing off indoor succulents and cacti is too much water - so be sparing and you should be good (in theory)!
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