Plants Are The New Black

An old school friend visited the other day and expressed her interest in starting to have more plants in her home. I couldn't miss the opportunity to get someone else hooked on plants. So I organised to send her home with a little plant starter kit to help boost her collection.  I included a cutting from a String of Pearls that needed to be propagated in water or stuck straight into soil. Unfortunately it was attacked by a small child. It was so tempting with those little balls to pull off. It looked ok and will definitely still grow. I also got her a cutting of a Chain of Hearts that has two potatoes on it so when it's ready for a pot those spuds just need to be tucked in the soil. I had a Jade and a Dew plant already growing in pots. A recycled tin can with holes for the Dew plant and a plastic pot for the Jade. I taped the top so the soil wouldn't fall out while travelling. I also included three bits of Elephant Bush Jade with roots already grown. They ...

I am very lucky to live in Tasmania, Australia. It is truly a beautiful place. People think it is freezing down here but that is only true half of the year. I like to think of it as somewhere you really get to experience all four seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We are also an island that is a little untouched compared to the rest of the world. This is enforced through very strict quarantine. While I agree and support this system it has caused me some MAJOR plant envy.  I look on instagram and see all these awesome plants that I would love but are tricky to get here.  I spotted this Marimo Moss when I entered the world of the #urbanjungle on instagram. I quickly learnt that not only would it be hard to find but the quarantine laws here in Tassie mean you're not even allowed to have them here. I believe in give and it will come back to you and I have given away lots of cuttings from my plants. I have received so many plants and cuttings from fa...

What do you do on Mondays? Monday is a home day for me. I try to leave it free and do my best to clean up and get on top of the never ending laundry situation. The thing I love about Mondays is that Monday is the day I talk to my plants. How are you going? Oooh have you grown a new leaf? You are such a happy fella. Would you like some more water this week? Yes the weather is hotter. You HAVE grown roots! I knew you could do it. Yep! On Mondays I talk to my plants. Some people have a strict watering system and their plants get watered following a routine. I know plenty of peopleplant  relationships that thrive on a strict routine. It just doesn't quite work for me. My plant care is a little different to that. It's a routine but it is flexible. Each Monday I make an effort to check up with each plant. Some need their weekly water others say, "Leave me alone this week". And a few high maintenance ones say, "Visit again before next Monday...

My family and friends thought I was going to end up a crazy cat lady. Over the years I've showed good form. I have ALWAYS had a cat. Generally more than one. I watched two of my cats give birth right next to my bed. I even found a stray/wild kitten outside our house, bribed it into our house with milk and kept it. It scratched and bit me but I loved it. I love cats. I had two cats before I got pregnant with my first son. One of my cats died during that pregnancy and I never replaced her. I spent my time working and when the nesting started I made my son a beautiful nursery. When I was pregnant with my second child I bought my first plant.  https://plantsarethenewblack.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/my-friend-fern.html This was the beginning of the end. You see I have an addictive personality and once I caught the planting bug I was hooked. My nesting this pregnancy was VERY plant focused. I spent my time and money on plants. Indoor plants. Outdoor plants. Things to put plan...

Do you have a fiddle leaf fig? Is it dust collector? I tried misting the leaves with water and then wiping them. This worked but I would have to repeat this regularly. I saw this trick on pinterest and thought I would give it a go. All you need is a clean cloth and some coconut oil. First I dusted the leaves. I put a small amount of coconut oil on a damp cloth. The coconut oil was a little hard so I add some warm water. Then when the cloth was cool I wiped each leaf on the top side only. Before: After: Two weeks later: One month later: The leaves still look super shiny and the new leaf is the biggest one yet!! I will definitely do this again. Now I just need to grow a few more big leaves.  #growbabygrow Note sure if this works for other plants? Let know if you've tried it. Over two months later: While not as shiny still looking stunning and best of all no dust!!

Our Begonia Erythrophylla is one of our favourite indoor plants. Did you know Plant Mums are allowed to have favourites? She is so easy going and she has forgiven us quickly for our many mistakes. We particularly love her thick glossy leaves and how quickly she grows. Will you keep reading if we keep listing all the things we love? She is a little extra special because she is a plant that belonged to J's Great Grandma. We have grown a lot of plants from this original plant over the last few years all from a single leaf. This plant is over 25 years old. Amazing isn't she. I can't wait till mine looks like this. Here are some others that all started out from one leaf. Want to know how to grow your Begonia from a single leaf? https://plantsarethenewblack.blogspot.com.au/2018/04/begonia-babies-how-to-propagate-begonia.html

The Maiden Hair Fern. This is the plant that began my journey. It was a birthday gift before I was ready to be a plant mum. I killed it. Apparently it didn't like living next to the heatpump and never being watered. Who knew? When I decided to start my plant owner journey I replaced the one I killed. I felt like I needed to try again. We have been friends a couple of years now. I call this fern a friend because I haven't cared for it like a mother. I haven't been the best friend either. She is a bit like that friend you had as a teenager that you had an awesome time with for awhile. It was amazing but then you didn't see each other for ages. You decide to try and hangout again to revive those funtimes. Sometimes it works. Sometimes the friendship(plant) dies. My fern friend and I still hangout but she has suffered over the years. She has had plently of leaves do this. And this. My fern nearly died multiple times. I pulled off all the re...