Slipper orchid. Cover photo: fragrant cattleya.
My nose is on strike* – allergies? Dry climate? Ancient mummy curse? Who knows. So today you get a brief (well, brief for me) natter about plants. Specifically, houseplants. If that bores you to tears, no worries, please come back again tomorrow.
I moved some succulents cross-country with me in 2021, and gave everything else to the Maine crew. Succulents are the perfect plants for my sunny, arid climate; I could leave for a week or two and know they’d be fine. But over the past year+ the plant family has grown (pun intended) and, well, I’m here to extol their virtues.
When I wake up in the morning, I wander around with my mister (one of those extended-spray skincare micro-mist bottles which is great for my purposes). I check in on everyone, add a little water as needed, make sure they’re getting the right light, adjust accordingly … I’ve discussed this with Musette. It’s very soothing. Very … healing, dare I say, in these parlous times.
It’ll be another couple of months before I can throw myself into outdoor gardening, find out what survived their first winter, do some pruning and a bit of clean-up, and then enjoy sitting and looking at the results of my labors. But my indoor plants are here for me right now, and it’s a moving meditation, caring for them. When I’m watering and fussing and misting and tidying, I’m thinking about them and nothing else. I can watch them send out new leaves while it’s still snowing outside.
Fragrant brassavola orchid hanging in the kitchen window.
We added some orchids to the menagerie after Carolyn mentioned there’s an orchid greenhouse here in the desert (“… wait, what?!?”) so off we went. Then I found some fun apothecary-style lidded jars in the clearance section of HomeGoods so I’m experimenting with terrarium life, adding small moisture-loving plants that I couldn’t grow otherwise. And of course there’s the impulse buys of plants with interesting, variegated foliage which I can’t resist when I spy them in Home Depot or Trader Joe’s.
I counted the houseplants this weekend, out of curiosity. We’re at seventy-something (I kept losing track.) Is that … a lot? Or not really? We’d have more if we had more room, more light, more windows. Good thing I have a plant-loving housemate so we don’t have to hire a plant-sitter unless we both decide to take a trip. But if I needed to hire a plant-sitter, I absolutely would.
Apothecary jar terrariums, Stenorrhynchos orchid in the small Wardian case, and slipper orchid in background.
What does this have to do with fragrance? Well, not much, except: some of them have fragrant flowers or foliage (e.g., the cattleya orchids, scented geraniums, hoyas), and collectively, they make the house smell different. I’m sure it’s partly the moisture. I have humidifiers running like mad, trying to hit a range of 30-40% humidity indoors rather than 10-15%– but it’s also the plants themselves and their loamy soil. It’s lovely.
So, do you have houseplants? A green thumb, or a black one? A burgeoning collection / addiction to any particular type of houseplant? Or are you quite happily plant-free?
*I’ve pretty much been wearing LUSH’s Chelsea Morning the past couple weeks because it’s easy to live with and I can actually smell it, unlike a lot of other fragrances I’ve been trying to sample.
All photos are mine.
My plant collection is much more modest and consists mostly of Things People Give Me. I’m grateful, so I take good care of them, but I also feel guilty if they somehow succumb. Separate friends gave me identical orchids after my dad died; one passed on to Plant Heaven quickly, but I kept the other going for quite a while…and my friends were none the wiser when they admired their gift in my living room (just had to be careful not to invite them over at the same time…)
I’m so impressed with your plants! I am terrible with plants and even have a ritual apology for any that find their way into my care. I apologize for their misfortune and promise to do my best, but warn them of struggles to come. Many wind up with me humming Taps on the way to the dumpster.
Strangely, I can grow orchids and ivy inside! I have rescued orchids from work trash and brought them to bloom. I think the key for me are hardy things that need only once weekly fussing! They do bring joy.
Hope your sniffer awakens, soon. Be well.
Ha! I do think there’s a type of plant person who does best with particular types of plants. I am impressed with your ivy skills, that’s a tough one indoors! Orchids really aren’t “fussy” if they have their basic care. Oddly, one plant I kill consistently is aloe — a thing a LOT of people grow with no issue.
Me too on the aloe. And jade plants that seem to thrive for everyone. They always die on me.
I have a bunch of jades, they’re okay, but you made me feel better about my aloe!
Love this post. Love housplants. I have limited space and not a lot of light. This winter I have been experimenting with a grow light. It’s great. Lately I have been adding and enjoying some more unusual plants too. I am planning on getting a pretty brassavola orchid cross this spring called “Morning Glory”. My favorite right now is Golden Fuchsia (Deppea splendens) which is from the cloud forests of Mexico and is extinct in the wild. My rabbit’s foot fern is a fun one. People say it looks like it’s all furry tarantula legs – the stuff of nightmares. And I love Cape Primroses and…….I’ll stop now. 😉
Grow lights are fabulous — they don’t even need to be “fancy” to be successful. I have one clipped to the front of the fireplace screen in the living room with three separate arms, keeping a whole bunch of more humidity loving plants happy (I clustered them hoping for success.) Rabbit’s foot is such fun, I love their little legs! I have a similar fern in one of those jars.
Forgot to mention – those jars are terrific. I may play around with that idea. I don’t like bigger terrariums. The plants that are happy there grow and become too big too quickly so you have to constantly remake parts, but those jars look so good – smaller jars, smaller and slower growing plants and mini-landscapes. That’s a win.
EXACTLY. I wouldn’t have tried if I hadn’t run across those jars and got to thinking about the mini landscape potential. I think I have them situated so the plants are fine but not going to grow much (ordered the moss on Etsy lol) because otherwise yeah I’ll be pulling them out. Thrift stores are a great place to look for big glass vases etc. — I have two with clear plastic plates on top but only because it’s so INSANELY dry here.
Thrift stores are a good idea. I have been thinking of a glass/clear bowl with the opening more to the side. It would be easier to work in and also the enclosed parts would retain some humidity. Etsy mosses are great. Do you know Climacium dendroides (tree moss)? Check it out. It grows on trees but also looks like mini-trees. I love it! Thought it might work in the glass bowl by itself or like a mini forest with a small plant or two in front.
Oh I saw that tree moss on Etsy! I wanted to get some (still do) but I want a more horizontal setup so I can do the forest landscape. I’m sure I’ll run across the perfect glass container at some point.
Oh I saw that tree moss on Etsy! I wanted to get some (still do) but I want a more horizontal setup so I can do the forest landscape. I’m sure I’ll run across the perfect glass container at some point.
Isn’t it great. I’ll know the container is right when I see it too. Wishing us both luck on this. It should be fun.
I have exactly 4 house plants. One a succulent grown from a shed leaf in a supermarket by my green fingered neighbour. It’s not looking to heathy at present, despite it surviving 4 years with me. The other three live in my bathroom. A money plant that I almost murdered but potting it up & moving to the humidity saved it. A plant that’s variegated on the front of the leaves & purple at the back. It moves so the top of the leaves face the sun. Finally a mini monstera that is a great big bush! It adores the humid south facing room with frosted glass.
I do have lots of garden but only the fruit & veg do well. Oh & the ivy I kept killing indoors & stuck in the ground by a wall as a last chance, 30 years ago. Now everyone around us has the healthiest ivy in the world apparently.
Ivy indoors is surprisingly hard to do — it dries out, gets bugs etc. Outdoors, though, look out! I was constantly pulling it down out of the trees at our last house. I bet that monstera is lovely… mine got too big and I gave it to a friend who was very happy to have it. Hey, you’re keeping them all alive!
I used to love houseplants and had many, and a significant cactus collection too. Up until a few years ago I had a 12′ palm tree in my living room and that made me so happy. But alas, even with the most tender care, tropical and heat/sun-loving plants for the most part cannot be tricked here in the frozen north. One weird exception–a grocery store orchid that has persisted for years in my 68 degree kitchen and sprouted a new round of blooms during last week’s cloudy -30 degree weather.
Yeah, those big trees/tropicals are a thing I’ve never mastered. I can manage smaller plants with a gro light etc. Love that story about your orchid! People think of them as “delicate” but they’ve been around since the dinosaurs, and can be surprisingly tough.
My little house has a year round porch tacked on during the 40s, windows on three sides. It’s small – I only have room for 4 healthy plants. They came from a single pot at Trader Joe’s during the pandemic. I divided them a year later, then split the philodendron and they are all beautiful. We talk every day. I wish I had room for more, but I also have an ornery, curious cat so nevermind.
Oh, those TJs dividends! I love that you’ve kept them all alive and set them up for success. Carolyn has always had cats and is much more attuned to the danger/destruction potential than I am with tiny, dumb dogs (who have never been interested in the plants, although I wouldn’t put anything poisonous at ground level.)
Love your plant display. Those glass things look amazing. Orchids too. I have a few house plants — maybe under 10. The grow stuff goes on outside. Our weird microclimate means we almost never get snow and maybe frost 8-10 times a winter. Water table is very high here and, as I’ve gone on about endlessly, it rains a lot. I love late winter/early spring to see who managed through the winter and is sending a middle finger up to the weather. I talk to all the plants and those that look like they need it get petted. It’s almost time to take the lily of the valley pots out from under the table.
Ooooh, LOTV, love that. I’d have to relearn everything to garden in your environment! I love the springtime and seeing what’s happening out there. It’s been weirdly warm here and some of the bulbs are poking their heads up.
Very impressed with your green thumb! I could kill the Everglades if you gave them to me for a week. Plus my place is north facing and looks into another building so gets very little light. I don’t mind for myself, but light for plants is sparse. I don’t mind miss that smell of plants- that scent of green growth and soil is lovely.
Bahahaha yeah, sounds like a tough environment for plants unless you have a gro-light. Of course where you are you can just go outside and see stuff growing when everything here looks dead. I loved seeing all the plants going gangbusters there.
I’m an outdoor plant person but I love having cut flowers indoors. I went big on cosmos and zinnias this year so we’ll see what they do. Every year I add some more daffodil bulbs (I especially like Thalia; the scent is divine) so those will be going soon. I’m in California so spring is almost here already. My iris bed is pretty much fully established now, a few years in. Right now I have a little posy of hyacinth, salvia, and hardy geranium on the table. I’m especially fond of my osmanthus bush – it doesn’t look very impressive, but when it’s in full flower you can smell it halfway down the block.
Love cut flowers “just because” and also for special occasions… and your bulbs! They’re the one thing i didn’t plant but I know there are some in this yard, I tried hard not to accidentally dig them up this year, it’ll be fun to see what we have. That osmanthus bush sounds FANTASTIC. I’ve always envied the things that can be grown in more temperate climates.
I tried for years with air plants but I can’t keep one alive more than 6 months. So I gave up on gardening because if I can’t keep an air plant alive, then I have no buisness gardening.
Hahahaha TRUE — air plants aren’t too complicated! Well, you get to be one of the folks who admire plants you don’t have to be responsible for, there’s upside to that.
Hey March,
LOVE houseplants, and balcony plants. Have to keep my selection pretty small because Jin is a plant murderer. He only needs to look sideways at one and it’s going brown.
A couple I really love are a rose that my BFFs Mum gave me before she died and a bunch of zygocactus that were on the window sill in the family home that I’ve kept going now for 24 years since Mum died. Also a bunch of Spathiphyllum from the same sill.
Portia xx
Oh, Jin! Yeah, you’ll have to keep him away from the plants. LOVE that you have your mom’s zygos! What a fantastic connection. Mine’s finally found its perfect windowsill. They can live for decades, as you know. Love peace lilies, mine is getting pretty darn big.
Wow March! I’m seriously impressed with your green thumb. I’ve never been able to keep a single houseplant alive. My hubby has a large peace plant called Herman and a rhododendron in his home office, but I don’t touch them. Keep my death fingers away! I do all the outdoor yard work, and have much better luck there. Benign neglect is my friend. I have 3 David Austin rose bushes that I tend, some bulbs, some perennials. I love the sound of your morning plant ritual — very zen and nurturing.
I do love the David Austin roses. I also garden under the benign neglect philosophy and the Austin roses thrive and have the most beautiful scents!
Thank you! I love that Herman has a name. Hey, being able to do the outdoor work is fantastic. Oh, I miss my rose bushes. I had several David Austins in DC. I suppose I could plant one in a pot, but there are three decent roses outside the rental so I’ve let that go for now.
That slipper orchid is DIVINE!
You know every room in my house has plants but, other than the orchids ( dendros) they’re all on Winter Holiday so my house hovers at 40-45% humidity
Except now…. Well… there’s an insane collection of… HOUSEPLANTS AND SUCCULENTS!
Hmmm… wonder who’s to blame for that?
Huh, I have NO IDEA who’s to blame for that!! (insert thinking emoji). Hey you are clearly very good at it!