I’ve never had much interest in buying real plants and flowers until we got married and I had a house that I was trying to cozy up! I bought a few things for our old house but never had much luck, they would always die within a couple weeks due to over or under watering. When we moved into our new house I was determined to work on my “green thumb” so I’ve been slowly adding plants inside and out. I still use faux plants and faux flowers but I do prefer the real ones.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned since being in our new house:
– Take it one plant at a time. Sure, I would love to have my flower bed full of all different types of plants and flowers, or my porch with an assortment of plants in pots, but plants can be expensive and I can’t afford to do it all at once. I will typically pick up about two a month so it’s not too much of a burden on our budget but I am still working towards my goal of several plants and flowers. I also used our credit card rewards to get a Lowes giftcard to go towards plants.
– Do your research! I kept seeing fiddle leaf fig trees all over the home décor world and had to have one, you may remember it from here. I did a little reading up on it and learned that they like bright areas but can’t get any direct light. They also only require about 1 cup a water a week. Knowing things like this are crucial to the success of a plant so it’s great to know all of that information!
– Most plants will let you know when they are “hungry”. I think my problem in the past was over watering plants. I am starting to learn to “listen to the plant”, sounds really crazy, right? But it’s true! Most flowers and plants will start to curl or droop when they need water, I often will wait until they start doing that to water them and then they’ll perk back up! This helps prevent from over watering like I’m known to do! I have some plants that require watering every day, some every other day and some that are more like once a week so it’s hard to know exactly how often without paying attention to the signs they give.
– Pots and Planters are the perfect thing to shop for second hand! Almost ALL of my pots and planters are from garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores or clearance finds. By getting great deals on the pots, it makes these plants much more affordable. I got this blue vase at a garage sale for under $5 and I paid $2.98 for the ivy making this plant very affordable.
– Don’t be afraid to change up your pots. This was a clay pot left behind from the previous owners of our old house so it’s probably at least 10 years old. I have spray painted it so many times I can’t remember, it cracks and chips and I just spray right over it again, it gives it character it was free so we might as well use it!
I got this pot of mixed flowers from a nursery this year. Instead of repotting it, I just dry brushed the pot with white paint to tone down that orangy clay to help it match the rest of of my porch décor.
I am no gardening expert but I have really enjoyed having lots of flowers and plants inside and out! There is just something very warm and welcoming about adding plants to your space. I hope these tips may help you feel a little more comfortable branching out and trying to add some greenery to your space!
The Hamby Home 