iamclaudiaq

In short, I’m a crazy plant lady now. Just kidding, kind of. In this post I’m going to share with you my journey with houseplants, how it started, and what I believe will help you be a successful with indoor plants.

Ok, so technically my very first plant was a small snake plant I got at Trader Joe’s in June 2019. That same year for my birthday my best friend gave me an orchid. The snake plant is still alive and thriving! The orchid unfortunately didn’t make it after I attempted to fertilize to get it to bloom again, but I did keep it alive and well for well over 6 months.

My first houseplant

Now, what I consider to be my first real plant is my Peace Lily, and that’s her name. I got her April 2020, she was in a 6 inch grower’s pot and today she is bursting out of her 10 inch pot with 3 blooms and another on the way.

The year was 2020 and many of us needed something to occupy our time and minds. I had been thinking about getting my very own peace lily for quite some time. I don’t like to play favorites, but she is my favorite. The stunning, deep green foliage and then those beautiful white blooms… how can you not fall in love with that? I had more time in my hands than I’d ever before, so this was the time to get my first houseplant.

I thought about getting it for several months before I actually purchased it. I had one thing in my mind; I had to be successful with this plant. From the start, I just knew and felt it only right that if I was going to bring a plant into my home, then I needed to ensure I was providing the optimal environment for the plant to thrive.

After a lot of research confirming I in fact could provide the right environment for a peace lily, I made the call to my local nursery who was offering curb side pick-ups, and she came home with me.

After a few weeks, my mom propagated her pothos plant for me, soon after it was her spider plant, then an aloe. I went back to the nursery and picked up another snake plant, a zz and I was feeling like a total natural with these plants, they were all thriving beyond any of my expectations.

My first tree

Months later, for my birthday (September), my husband (wrongfully advised by my best friend, lol jk, but seriously) gifted me a 4 foot fiddle leaf fig. I was terrified! I had been reading a lot about these trees and I just wasn’t sure I was ready for a plant that is known to be so finicky.

I did keep him because as much as I was terrified I was also excited to have my first tree in the house. Named him Mr. Fitzgerald.

Mr. Fitzgerald scared me straight.

I had a very hard time figuring him out, I joined Facebook groups to learn and ask advise, watched endless YouTube videos from plantfluencers on care tips…. I tried everything yet he was declining more each day and I felt powerless. Once he dropped 12 leaves in a single day! If you know anything about fiddles you know this is real bad.

But having Mr. Fitzgerald is what’s made me understand houseplants as much as I do now. I learned leaves will fall, they will have imperfections, and most importantly, plants are native to the outdoors! Brining them inside whether from a greenhouse or a nursery, is an adjustment; we have to be patient and adjust our expectations.

I’m happy to report Mr. Fitzgerald is still alive and well! In fact, on Christmas morning he began sprouting 6 new leaves!

Plant Consults (it’s a thing)

Learning and understanding this changed my cockiness on houseplants all together. Yes I wanted more houseplants and I still do. But above all, do I have or can I provide the right environment for that plant’s needs? And so begins my styling with plants.

The issue with a lot of the plant advise out there is that we don’t factor the different environments we all live in. Someone in Florida giving advise to someone in Arizona will not yield the same results. Temperatures and humidity are drastically different and there are a ton of other variables like which way does your house face or what kind of soil was your plant potted with.

I’ve started offering some basic Plant Services to help you and your plant thrive together.

My future with plants

Today I have 32 indoor plants (8 trees indoors) and several more outdoors. I love how much life they bring inside my home but I’m always conscious of being able to provide them with the right attention and environment and that’s always of the outmost importance.

I continue to learn so much about plants and look forward to sharing that with you!

Tell me, are you a plant parent/lover too?

xx