Wednesday, September 12, 2012

magical plant stands..


I have never been able to keep indoor plants alive. I'm so bad I even kill cactus. But something magical has happened this past summer. I have successfully kept alive EIGHT houseplants and they are flourishing. The days I get to work from home my desk sits right next to these windows and I get to watch them grow and be happy in the sunlight. I think that both the plant stands I found a couple months ago had some sort of magical properties to them that are keeping my plants happy and alive.

Let me give you an introduction to the happy growers:

First up is my spider plant (I think thats what they call them?!) . This one hasn't really grown too much. I got it for a dollar at a little plant sidewalk sale. But I haven't killed it, so that's all that matters!

Next are my geraniums:


This is my winner for most impressive! My Aunt had given me a small clipping of one of her geraniums and I actually snipped it into two pieces because of the way it was leaning. For the first few weeks it didn't do anything and I thought it was just another one of my plant deaths. But then I got the magical plant stand. Once it sat up on the top tier it came to life and has been growing like mad. I need to get another pot and split it up because right now the two of them are in the one pot. It looks like it's going to flower soon which will be awesome because I'm not sure what color it will be. My Aunt has an AMAZING plant collection. When her and my Uncle went on vacation in July she brought over 20 of them to my parents house to be "watched" hahaha. All different sizes and colors and variegations. The plant she cut this from was actually the only one that was not flowering at the time, so it will be a surprise.


I'm not quite sure what this guy is called. Some sort of suculant. I call them Shrek ears, cause well they look like Shrek's ears.. My mister had given me one before that was combined with a bunch of different types. I had it at my desk when I was a manager at a local bank (hahah can you believe I was an assistant manager at a bank!) Anyway, all the girls took care of it for me and I also had it in a "self watering" container. So I guess I kept those alive too. But again. I wasn't the only one looking after it. I had to be reminded to water it. Note to everyone out there, just because it's in a self watering container - you still have to water the container so that it can water the plant... But this little guy is getting big and has already sprouted up new Shrek Ears.


"Violet, you're turning violet, Violet". My african violet that just started to flower yesterday! So excited!! 

Now moving over to my other awesome plant stand!


This was another 1$ plant. I have absolutely no clue what it is but it's growing like crazy! It literally was this teeny, tiny snippet then all of the sudden it exploded into this! The arms of it are going everywhere (I call them arms..I'm not a plant person as you can see!)


This guy hasn't grown too much. I'm not sure what this one is either, but it is really cool looking so that's all care about. Oh, and it's not dead. Another bonus.


Don't ask, no idea what this one is either. Just know that it doesn't like much light. You can't really tell from this picture but the leaves are variegated with pink in them. Another cool plant that isn't dead so that makes me happy.


I love this one. I don't know why I'm in love with it so much, I just am. And yeah, I don't know what it is either.


I suppose I could try and figure them out and google them. I'm also sure readers on here will inform me what I actually have growing in my house. But I really could care less the names of them. Just that I have kept them alive for multiple months now and they are totally loving their bright space and stands. I love it too. I love having plants in the house and now I want many many more. I want HUGE plants and small plants and hanging plants and random plants. Plants everywhere! 


I have wanted this circular plant stand for ages now and finally found one at the same shop I got the pagoda style stand at. She asked if I was going to paint it and make it like new. Why would I do that? It would loose all its charm and life. I love it just the way it is. She agreed and was happy to know it would be staying original. (don't mind the floors - its a very long story behind these floors - basically there was terrible fluffy carpet in this room when we moved in We both detest carpet and ripped it out but underneath was even worse. It was this super thin, green wacky "carpet" the backing of it was burlap and it was put down with TAR! I can not even explain the amount of bad, bad words that were said taking that up and then scrapping and scrapping..and scrapping the tar off. We were left with these planks, some have knot holes and we can see down into the basement! We slapped some stain on them and they will serve as the subfloor for when we finish off these two rooms and decide what final floor will actually go in. Some of the areas close to the walls, I started giving up and left some of the black because I couldn't take it anymore! Especially when its not like these floors will be here to stay, oh and pieces of the stuff that is in between the boards  comes up and kills your feet when you are walking. it depends on the weather if the wood is swelled or not. but once its not swelled that stuff pops out- it looks like chalk almost. you wouldn't believe how many times i sweep and try to get rid of it all- but it always seems like there are more little pieces everywhere! i probably lost all of you with that portion of the floor rant!..ok back to plants!)

I've shown you the other stand before, so no need to show that one in all its glory again. But yes, my plants are happy and that makes me happy.  



Comments (14)

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this is awesome - you for sure have a green thumb! i couldn't keep a hardy bush alive outside in the spring, so i totally have respect for this

<3 katherine
of corgis and cocktails
1 reply · active 652 weeks ago
i wouldn't really call it a green thumb as extreme luck. like i said i kill everything. this is a HUGE surprise to me and the first plants i have ever kept alive for this long of a time! I really do think these plant stands had a bit of magic in them. i bet the first owner of the stands was this amazing plant lady with thousands of glorious indoor and outdoor plants!
Yay! Good for you, dude. Basically my garden is one big weed and our tomato plants are one big crispy pile of yellow leaves. Whoops.
1 reply · active 652 weeks ago
hahha notice how there hasnt been an update on my front yard in quite some time..yeah..its because its a big ol' weedy nasty, dead mess!
Jordan and I try so hard to keep our plants alive... we've had little success this season. We especially have hard times with ferns -- which are supposed to be *easy!* -- but they don't seem to take well to sunlight, shade, part-shade, part-sun, light, dark, wet, dry, moist, inside, outside...

You can't see me but I'm shaking my fist towards the sky.
1 reply · active 652 weeks ago
buy a vintage plant stand- im convinced they have some sort of super powers!
succulents are my favorite! but I just moved from an apartment with a full sun porch to one with an ultra shaded screen in deck so I'm trying to find plants that will work better for me now!

I just stumbled past your blog and I absolutely love it! Can't wait for your next post!

Your Newest Follower Here!
Hannah
1 reply · active 652 weeks ago
aww- thanks. though now I feel like I need to live up to an expectation. Please forgive me if my next post stinks and isn't as beautiful as my pretty plants! As Nicole tells me, I'm a "woman with many disclaimers" hahah

welcome aboard!
Hooray! I love to hear a happy plant story after my summer of KILLING EVERYTHING. Rats. I also don't know how you can handle having a geranium in the house. P.U. That is up there in my "least favourite smells" category.
1 reply · active 652 weeks ago
weird i don't smell a thing. maybe i have a non stinky version?! believe me- if there was a smell i'd know it because i have been coined a "super sniffer"! i can be inside my house and smell someone smoking outside walking down the sidewalk hahah but seriously, i am really sensitive to smells (like perfumes give me migraines - if you are anywhere near me wearing a perfume I can sniff you out and will be sick within 5 minutes!)
YAY PLANTS!
I'm so jealous of your plant stands. They're incredible.
I want more plants but we don't have enough high surfaces - Hanni and Mischa are nibblers.

Plant parenting is kind of an addiction, I recognized a couple of your unidentified ones if you want to read up on them (I have a book called the Complete Houseplant Survival Guide and it's awesome with great pictures)...
The Shrek Ears is a Jade plant. they can get HUGE and are amazing. I have a pretty big one that I got as a small cutting from my dad. They're really wonderful! Yours looks super happy. Tthe long exploding one that was a snip-it is a Wandering Jew I think. I had to double check but the spotty one is a Gold Dust Plant. And apparently they are notoriously slow-growing so you're doing it right even if it's just kinda sitting there. :)

Happy Plants / Happy Home! Congratulations
1 reply · active 652 weeks ago
hey sarah!

i was a little worried what all the girls would do. Polly is the only one that I have to yell at sometimes because they will get playing and she'll bump into them or her tail will start knocking into things. But they seem to leave them alone for the most part, sometimes Ella will go over and try to sniff at them once in a while but in general they've been good. I'd love to be able to get some big pots for the floor. I'm just not sure if they'd get enough sun.

Yeah Shrek has tripled in the short time I've had it. When I got it, it was just 2 little sprouts and I think I counted there are 6 or 7 coming up now. I'm excited knowing that it will get huge! That exploding one is insane. I seriously don't know what to do with it, it's getting so big! That might look super neat as a hanging plant in those windows.. Good to know on the names and maybe I'll check out that book. I'm really getting into it now and think it's so amazing that I am keeping things alive! Wouldn't it be amazing to have just rooms and rooms of fabulous plants?!

give hanni and mischa kitty hugs from me! maybe i'll see you in dec - i might try to get out to come visit the BB and thinking next year of applying again. I miss you all and that show!

xoxo
That plant stand is awesome!! Thanks for sharing about your plants. :) I love the jade, but I can't seem to keep succulants alive- I think I love them TOO much and they can't take it! haha.
That's a great idea. it's show how to make home so beautiful with the help of plants...

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