Bring on the plant love!

Feeling a little boxed in? Me too!

Nearly a month into our Shelter-in-place order, I’m feeling a little restless after spending so much time indoors. I’m lucky enough to see the sun rise over the Bay most days, propped up in bed sipping a hot cup of tea. 

When there’s fog, it’s often just as stunning -thick layers of white, pale gray and blue, melding together water, land and sky. I’m always amazed at how different it looks every single morning. And yes, I will admit to watching cargo ships and birds through an old pair of binoculars, hoping the neighbors don’t glance up and think I’m spying on them.

The other day on a whim, I stepped away from my laptop to rummage around my apartment for any soon-to-be planter I could drum up. I found a translucent avocado pedestal vase my grandmother had given me twenty-some-years ago. It has a chip on it’s rim, but never mind that! 

I have an affection for succulents and I think the feeling is mutual. They make themselves at home and get along with the orchids on my shelves. 

For this particular planter, I chose String-of-pearls. It was easy enough to clip some starts from a plant in my backyard. Not all succulents thrive indoors, but luckily this one does quite well.

Succulents like to dry out between watering so I put a layer of rocks in the bottom of the vase which helps evaporate any excess water and minimize moisture in the soil. Check out our Plant Care tips on how to keep them happy.

Back in the house I spread out some newspaper on the kitchen table and sat down the vase and clippings.

The rest took less than 5 minutes, I made a few little holes in the soil with a sugar spoon, tucked in the ends of each little String-of-pearls and pressed the soil around each clipping. Then I moistened the soil, cleaned any dirt off the vase and placed it on the hearth above my fireplace. 

I'm loving this sweet little bohemian addition to my living room and the process of planting it got me out of the house, moving about and feeling creative.

Now I've got a new morning ritual of misting the vase with water and the pleasure of seeing a little more life in the room each time I look up from my laptop.

By Shelley Eades
 

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