Freshen Up...Your Plant Life

This may be my most hypocritical post of this entire series. I am, after all, not known for being the plant lady.

In fact, wanna hear a funny story? When I left my job at IWU and went to WBCL, I had the trusty box of office stuff that I packed up from the old office so I could transplant it to the new office. But when I started at WBCL, the previous producer (Jamie) was still there. We had 28 beautiful days together for her to teach me the ropes. I felt a bit presumptuous marching in on my first day with my box-o-stuff, ready to decorate a space that was really still hers. So I left the box in the car. For two days. Including my office plant.

Did I mention I made this transition in July?

Yeah, it didn't make it.

Despite being notorious for not always making the best plant decisions, I really do love them. I love the life they bring to homes. And slowly...very slowly...I'm learning to do a better job and keep these things alive inside this place. So with this newfound (and potentially erroneous) confidence, I feel that I need to freshen up my plant life around our house.

1. Fresh flowers.

Okay, that's probably cheating. But stay with me.

I really love fresh flowers. After Ryan's mom died, I brought home all the flower arrangements that had been sent to the funeral (marked for us) and distributed them throughout the house. It was BEAUTIFUL in here for a couple of weeks! I loved waking up to a bouquet in the bedroom, having one on the kitchen table, and a handful in the living room. So colorful!

Shortly after that, I spoke at a women's retreat, and the event organizers had left a beautiful white pitcher in our room, and it was full of flowers. I left them out until there was no more life in them, but I have decided I want to grab wildflowers from the grocery store a little more often and refill that beautiful pitcher for our kitchen table. It's a little thing...but it's a big thing!

2. Add some succulents.

They're trendy and I buck trendy. But they are so CUTE!! And I have one now, so I feel like this means I should try to learn how to be good and creative with them.

I actually got my one little succulent plant at the retreat where I spoke last month. It was the take-home favor/craft they provided for everyone to make throughout the weekend. I love mine and really hope I can keep it alive! And if I do...maybe I can branch out and try some other things! (I did find this handy post with tips on keeping them alive - and even encouraging them to thrive - if you'd like to learn more.)

3. Try some bigger plants. 

Although we received a bunch of fresh flower arrangements when Ryan's mom died, we did get this beautiful Peace Lily, and I love having it in our living room. It's big and pretty and makes me feel a little bit tropical in the confines of my very own house! (Found some tips on keeping THIS alive!)

If we ever get our someday-dream of having a sun porch, I would love to get a whole bunch of big plants and have my own little sanctuary of joy!

And as dumb as it sounds, there's something about being able to keep a BIG plant alive that makes me feel like I've arrived.

4. Plant an herb garden!

Photo by pintando la luz on Unsplash

Annnnnnnnd here's where we enter do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do. I have a total fascination with herb gardens. I've even owned some live herb plants here and there along the way. We won't talk about how they're no longer living.

One of the things I have never been able to figure out about herb gardens (so maybe you can tell me!) is how you possibly use all the herbs. I feel like I cook using a decent amount of them and there's still no way I can possibly keep up with the amount produced by plants! But I think having one would make me feel incredibly fancy. I like to feel fancy.

Do any of you have an herb garden? Can you teach me anything?

5. Keep it colorful.

I'm moving our plant party outside for this last one. We don't have a ton of perennials here at our house. The people who lived here before us had planted a few rose bushes, but that was about it. (Every spring I remember that I intended to plant tulips and daffodils in the fall...but I forgot.)

But we do plant a number of annuals every year, and we love all the color and brightness they bring to our porch. (And people who walk by sometimes tell us they like looking at them too!) I usually plant the same things every year, because I know they grow well in those spots and I know I can keep them alive! We also add a couple of huge ferns just to balance it out, and we love the way it looks when it's all put together.

Even if you just have a little apartment patio, you can freshen up your view with some colorful annuals in pretty pots! And the plants are starting to arrive at the stores, so it won't be long until you can shop and put it all together!!