Thriving Plants with Treleaf

 Thank you, Treleaf, for sponsoring this post. All opinions are honest, of course, and are my own. 

Welcome, new plant aficionados and experienced crazy plant ladies. This post is for all of us. 

Remember pothos? I shared about it in my list of hard-to-kill, easiest-to-have houseplants. It still remains my happiest houseplant, and because you can propagate it, all you have to do is buy ONE and you end up with many. 

Related: Simple tips for keeping houseplants alive | Propagating 101

1

DIY Garden Starters with Kids

This is a really budget-friendly spring activity to try with your kids, and it will lead to your own selection of fresh veggies! Last summer, I had my first ever vegetable garden. Up til last summer, I thought vegetable gardens were ugly and why would you want that in your outdoor space?! Flower gardens? Pretty. Spindly vegetable plants? No thanks. 

And then I realized how EXCITING it is to see your little seeds sprout, to plant those sprouts in the ground, and to gather fresh cucumbers a few months later. 

Now, I'm hooked. 

Related: Simple tips for keeping houseplants alive | Upcycle planter ideas for indoor plants

0

How to Revive a Fiddle Leaf Fig

Once again, Aldi is the best grocery store ever and don't argue with me about that. Last month from Aldi, I got a very healthy, leafy fiddle leaf fig for SIX CASH DOLLARS, EVERYBODY. 

The 40+ Pinterest posts I read through made it very clear that they are tempermental plants, but I felt up for the challenge. I placed my new plant near-ish to a window, didn't over water it.........and then slowly it dropped almost every single leaf. This Instagram post shows how lucious it started out! So leafy! So full! 

0

Simple Tips for Keeping Plants Alive

Happy SPRINGGGG! We've had some sunny, 65 degree days and it feels GLORIOUS. And what better way to make social distancing/quarantine feel more springy than to bring some green inside, too?

It's no secret I'm plant obsessed: Propagating plants for beginners and these 3 plants for people who think they can't keep plants alive.

0

Turning Your Plants Into More Plants

**Affiliate links are here. Thanks for supporting this little blog! 

Whew, it's been a whirlwind over here with 3 kids, trying to do fun things, and catching up on laundry/dishes/dinner prep in all my free time. Riley still sleeps all day and I still can't seem to find a few extra moments to write blog posts and comment on other blogs! What am I gonna do when she's awake more during the day?! Anyway, let's move on from my blogging incapabilities to all the plant things. 

Last week I shared three plants that are basically unkillable: the spider plant, pothos, and philodendron...but for all us beginners, there's more reasons to love them besides the fact that they are so easy to keep alive! Pinterest has long lists of "easy houseplants," but starting with these will allow you to grow your selection of plants even more.

Related: The "are you a crazy plant lady?" quiz | Indoor planter inspiration | Hanging plants in the nursery

0

Hard-to-Kill Houseplants

As soon as you walk in my front door, the secret is out: I am trying to turn my house into an indoor jungle. Personally, I don't think it's crazy to have thirty-one plants in your downstairs. That's super logical and my living room air must be super fresh, right? Right.

I love keeping indoor plants alive (not outdoor plants, that's different and hard and no thanks)......but I am also a self-proclaimed cheapskate who doesn't want to spend lots of money. While the exotic, tropical plants are fun (like my living room palm tree in this Instagram post), they are also hard to keep alive and if it dies, then the money I spent on it was a bit of a waste.

Related: 5 money-saving planter ideas | DIY herb garden | How to create a succulent garden

So if you're looking for plants that won't be a huge money-waster, or if you claim to have a black thumb: these plants are for you!

The other incredible thing about these plants is that you can TURN THEM INTO MORE PLANTS. That's right. You buy one, and a few months later you can have lots more. But more about that here!! Let's start with what the super easy plants are.

0

Friday Greenhouse Adventures

Like I mentioned in my summer staycation checklist post, I got to explore a new-to-me greenhouse
when our friends came to visit! It was a cute little spot, tucked off of a small path in a nature preserve. We brought our lunch and ate at a nearby picnic table (until the biting flies chased us away. Seriously, what's your DEAL, biting flies?!), and it was a fun time exploring!

0

DIY Herb Garden Starters (that your toddler may or may not love doing)

I really thought Aiden would love this project! He helps me water my houseplants, and what kid doesn't like digging in the dirt?! Well, as it turns out, he was into this for 0.3 seconds and then all he wanted to do was drive around in his toy truck (see below.) That left me posing awkwardly for self-timer pictures. By myself. Holding dirt. Just you're average Tuesday, of course.

Anyway, this project costs like $3 to make, depending on how many seed packets you buy! I saved cardboard egg cartons and just used dirt from my back yard, but of course you could get fancy and buy real seed starter things.

(If you're into the plant thing, which clearly I'm reeeeal obsessed with, you might also like reading my 5 ideas for indoor planters and my DIY succulent garden!)

0

The "Are you a crazy plant lady" Quiz

**This post has affiliate links, which means when you purchase something using that link, I get a small commission. Thanks for supporting this blog!

Hi, I'm Julie, and keeping plants alive is super fun. That's my confession. Should I be sorry for talking about them so much? Is it normal to get really excited when you see your succulents sprouting new roots and tell your husband to come quick and look at this, as if your own child learned a fun new skill? Hmm, all the questions to consider...

Anyway, while I decide whether or not to tone down my love for houseplants (currently leaning towards not), I've created a quick checklist for you fellow plant enthusiasts. You get one point for every item on the list that makes you nod and go, "Yup, mmhmm, that's me for sure."

0

DIY Wall Hanging Plants

**Affiliate links are present in this post, which means when you purchase something from the link, you're supporting my blog (with no extra cost to you!). 

The real reason I was able to do this DIY was because my husband, Devin, helped me--he's the one who found the planters, who saw that they were magnetic, who helped me mount them, and who encouraged/heckled me while planting them ("this is for the blog, right? hashtag vertical gardens, hashtag garden up, hashtag urban farming").

This whole project came from a date to Home Depot, when, after looking for electrical supplies, he suggested we look at plants (hi, it's me here, the one with a new favorite hobby, as seen in this succulent post and other posts on Instagram). It was sweet, us walking through aisles of potted plants and coming up with this project!

Because the $2.50 pots from Home Depot were magnetic, we had to use magnets to mount the plants on our fence piece wall decor (a.k.a. our stocking hanger) which might be more difficult if you're attaching planters just to your wall, and not a magnetic surface like your fridge or another magnetic surface. That's why I've linked up some other easy-to-install wall planters that you can screw right into your wall!

0

DIY Succulent Garden

Things that make me feel SUPER accomplished: tricking a toddler into eating a vegetable, doing a 20-minute post-partum "workout," and keeping plants alive. I have a whole bunch of succulents, but not because I buy one every time I'm at Home Depot (and believe me, I want to!!!). I have only bought three $4 succulents (so for those of you keeping track, that's $12) and here I am with more succulents than I know what to do with.

How do I get my little plants to keep growing? It's so easy: I keep cutting off new sprigs, the tops, or even a random leaf and sticking it in dirt. Dirt that I got from my front yard. Not even fancy, succulent-ready organic composite dirt. Nope, nope, nope. Stick anything you cut off of a succulent into front-yard dirt and it will grow roots. If for some reason it doesn't (your STUPID DOG knocks the planter off the windowsill, you forget to water it for 5 weeks, you left it in a dark corner with no sunlight, etc.), you just try it again.

0

5 Planter Ideas for Indoor Plants

I was in Home Depot (as always, we basically live there, which I talked about here) and saw some of their $4 house plants, so of course I got some...how can you resist?! But I didn't want to spend more on pots for them, so I tried to get creative. Plus, it feels more like spring with more plants around!

What to use as planter-alternatives:

1. Old candles. You probably won't burn the last 1" of candle at the bottom of the jaw, so scoop it out and plant a houseplant in there! The green and brown "planter" in the picture above was from a candle. 

2. Small buckets & containers from the dollar store/Target's $1 section. (That's what the galvanized bucket is--a $1 score from Target forever ago.)

3. Bowls/dishes you never use. I grabbed an old salsa dish (the white dish above) that we RARELY use and decided it would be a cute planter. 

4. Pretty teacups or mugs. Check your thrift store and I bet you can get some intricate cups/mugs for about $1! Courtney used a teacup with a succulent for our Wild Cedar Co. photo here and I found this inspiration on Pinterest. 

5. Mason jars (or old jelly jars!). Roll some paint around the inside of the clear glass jar so you don't have to look at roots and dirt. Once it dries, fill it up with rocks at the bottom and dirt on top!

If you're looking for actual planters, check out these adorable and modern ones from Oak and Oats!

What do you use as planters? What are some of your favorite indoor plants? Or are you a plant killer (....like I used to be!)?

0