green - growing - life - living

I heard someone say once that plants make a home feel lived-in and loving. That, in order for the plants to be there at all, there must be someone present to nurture them. I've never looked at a household the same since then.

Can't you just feel the difference??

What grows in our home?

• 1 syngonium on the butcher cart in the kitchen. Very happy. In a beautiful mosaic pot, given to me by Able-Bodied Boy.
• 1 aloe plant on the window sill in the kitchen. Looking worse for the good wear of use, but happy. I'm hoping I can convince the old girl to sprout some new babies this year.
• 1 philodendron (I believe) on a shelf in the master bathroom window. Currently unhappy. My first attempt at a water-only growth, and I'm thinking it might be time to find a pretty pot with some good soil. It's a south-facing window, with a thin white curtain blocking direct sunlight, so I think that's a good thing.
• 6 baby spider plants in the upstairs spare room, south-facing window. Looking meh. Pretty soon I'll transplant these into a couple pots for throughout the house. Hoping for more life that is hearty (ie, I can't easily kill it)
• Countless baby worms and soon-to-hatch eggs. I just made another bed in the vermicomposter and pulled out the semi-mature compost, and found them while transferring everything around. While some of the eggs and young worms made it into the fresh bed, I'm sure plenty are going into the garden soon. Which will make for a very happy garden!

I think that's it. Not really the extensive list I'd like to have. We've tried other plants and they've all managed to die. Our living room is north-facing, with a covered porch over the front windows, two skylights for ambient light, and no florescent normally in use. Not the best of lighting situations, and I have yet to find anything that stays happy for very long. Of course, it's probably me :)
I'm hoping the spider plants are an exception! I want them hanging off the tops of bookshelves and on end tables and on the top of the hutch-style desk and in guest rooms and everywhere making everything look alive.

Of course, that means remembering to water plants that are out-of-sight-out-of-mind.

 Spider plants in the living room. Baby steps.

What grows in your home? What have you had great success with in low lighting?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


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