So, my mother has always been able to grow anything that came her way. If it came to her sickly and limp, she'll have it full, lush, and strong within a month. Sometimes I wonder if she's part wizard, and maybe I'm just a squib of sorts. Over the past few years I have been finding my own way to horticulture, and have managed to kill very few plants! I'll admit I've started small, with hardy plants that can take a bit of abuse.
Today, I finally went out to my
local small business garden store, and finally got some new, larger pots for some of the newer plant babies, some more potting soil, and some special soil for the new lavender plant, as well as some long over-due fertilizer. I also picked up some small plants for the new office. My employer is moving to a new location, and we're all very excited to have windows, and great big windows right near our desks, too! Southern and eastern exposure means we can have some real plants around! I'm starting conservative on that, since I'm not sure exactly how much light will be filtering in, so I picked up some English ivy to cover the side of a desk hutch and some lucky bamboo, since that's always easy to keep and lucky is a good place to be.
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Here is Maria, and the vines keep going and going and going!
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I also decided to try and harvest some clippings from my philodendron, Maria. I have a tendency to name all my plants, since they share the apartment too, and provide some extra oxygen, they're like very quiet, helpful roommates who need some help feeding themselves. I originally got Maria from a staff appreciation day at my previous job, way back in 2009. Since then, her tendrils have grown at least 5 feet, if you were to straighten them all out. She's threatening to take over the bookshelf in the living room, so it's time to keep her in check.
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| Here are Maria's babies, I'm trying to get them to root in some soil and then will try to find some happy homes for them. In the back is the new lucky bamboo for the new office. |
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| Gonzo is my oldest plant baby, and it's clearly been doing well. I got it from a family moving out of a nearby house who left it by the curb, since they couldn't take it with them. The leaves are between a foot and two feet long, and it continues to threaten to invade the living room. |
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| So this is Clive, the Chive. So sue me for the name. It's a convenient plant to have around and I can grab the occasional snip for flavoring food in the nearby kitchen. |
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| Here is Lala the lavender, partly named after the Telletubby, partly because it sounds like "lavender". I am looking forward to lavender shortbread cookies and lavender tea, and maybe some other options as well. I appreciated the woman at Johnson's providing helpful advice on what kind of soil to use - Bonzai soil of all things! |
The story behind this last plant is grown and growing! It was a birthday gift to me by a colleague at my last job, and I haven't had any clue what it was for ages (almost coming up on my next birthday). So, I finally caved and sent this picture around on Facebook with a plea to see who knew what it was. Luckily a friend of mine commented almost immediately that she knew exactly what it was - a prayer plant, so named because the leaves fold up at night like it is praying. After looking it up online, I also learned that the reason why some of the leaves had gotten brown is that the poor plant simply needs more humidity. This would explain why the leaves in the picture are so healthy - summer in DC is so humid that it will permeate anything, even our overly air-conditioned apartment. So all I need to do for this puppy to just thrive is to just spritz the leaves with some water! I'm so thrilled with the results of my crowd sourcing. In honor of the long mystery, its name is Melody the Mystery, and the name is also a nod to my Dr. Who geekery.
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