I don’t know where you are in the world, but my neck of the woods has been hit with the worse winter I can remember: snow, extreme cold, rain, snow, icy rain, more extreme cold, and some more snow. Winter is nowhere near finished, yet I’m already daydreaming about summer, and days when the air doesn’t kill my face every time I’m courageous enough to get my butt outside.
As you might have guessed, I really am not a winter person. That’s fine. I get people who like winter: the magic of snow falling, the splendor of quiet forest, the brisk air… you enjoy it: I’ll be transforming my house into a forest!
For the last month or so, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to our houseplants. I had ignored them for a few years, and my boyfriend has been taking great care of everyone. However, with the cold setting camp, I just love the satisfaction I get from pruning, watering, dusting and generally fussing over our plants. I’d like to introduce you to some of my favourite plant friends.
Peperomia argyreia – Watermelon Peperomia
This one is probably the fussiest tiny plant we have. I killed one already, so this is my second attempt to keep a watermelon peperomia alive. However, I couldn’t resist buying a new one: look at these leaves! They are glossy and so pretty. I love the contrast between the very green leaves and the pink stems. I potted it in some cactus mix, placed it on a South East window and avoid overwatering it. It’s been living with us for three months, and new leaves are coming out: I’m taking it as a very good sign!
Ficus lyrata – Fiddle leaf fig tree
This one has been on my wish list for years! However, we already have pretty big plants in our home, so I couldn’t really justify buying a new three. About a month ago, I was looking for some new pots and saw this baby fiddle leaf. It looked so cute and was all alone: I simply had to bring it home with me! Plus, the price tag on this little one was a lot more acceptable for my tiny student budget.
Monstera adansonii – Swiss cheese plant
One of my latest plant friends! I’ve placed this one near a sunny window but out of direct sunlight. I love these beautiful leaves, and I have to admit I’m spending way too much time just staring at this beauty. I mist it when I think of it and water it twice a week to keep it well and humid.
Pilea peperomioides – Chinese money plant
When I got the mother pilea, I potted it in a suspended glass container. This really looked cute, but it was a terrible idea as I tend to overwater my plants. The mother plant soon started to have very weird looking leaves: curled upwards, curled downwards. It just didn’t seem to enjoy life at all. So, I took out some babies, potted everyone in some cactus mix, moved the family to our trusty South East facing window, wrote a clear watering schedule, and all is well again! The babies are doing super great, and the mom is starting to make some healthy new leaves. I love these smooth round leaves: so cute!
Epipremnum aureum – Jade and pearls pothos
This one is a rescue baby: it was in a really small pot, jammed with a sorry phalaenopsis orchid in the clearance bin of our hardware store. So, I just had to take it home! I repotted this beautiful pothos in its own pot, and I just saw that a new leaf is coming out! This one is supposed to grow a bit slower than other pothos, so I’m glad so see new growth! As for the phalaenopsis, it has been repotted and is now chilling with our other orchids. I’m really curious to see it flower as I have no idea what colours the blooms are supposed to be!
Senecio rowleyanus – String of pearls
This one! Oh my! It is so stinking cute! I know I say this for almost all of our plants, but really, look at this string of pearls!!! How adorable! I have to keep a written watering schedule for this one as I really don’t want to overwater it. It’s chilling in our bedroom, and I love waking up and seeing these little pearls. So adorable!
Maranta leuconeura –Prayer plant
And finally, my shadow baby! My office has a North West facing window with high trees, so it doesn’t get enough light for regular plants. However, one of my books said that prayer plants could tough it out in darker corners. Well, this baby is happy as can be! It hasn’t stopped making new leaves, and I think it’s now working on some flowers! The best part is that it loves water, and so I can literally shower it with love (well, with some restraint of course). Plus, I’ve read that’s it’s great at filtering mold spores in the air, which is always a plus if you are mortified by molds like me. I just love how pretty and colourful it is in my bat-cave of an office!
So anyways, that’s it for now! Let me know if you’d be interested in a plant series as I would love writing about my plants some more. I’ve been nursing a concussion for that last week and having my plants around to look at and care for has been a great relief. Please share you plant babies with me as I’d love to see them!
My Lighthearted Kitchen 
The String of Pearls is a fun looking plant. It’s new to me.