Hi - I Have A Houseplant Addiction.
House plants are the new copper and rose gold in the blogging world. Not a day goes by where I don't see a windowsill adorned with cacti or a Matalan hanging planter with a fake succulent on Instagram. My house is no different, I have some kind of house plant (fake or otherwise) in every room of the house, on every windowsill, on the coffee table, on the shelves....I can't stop.
Inspired by Bethany's post from last month I thought I'd share a lil insight into my house plants with a bit of info on how to care for them - and why you need 9284935894875 in your home.
My Collection;
My introduction to house plants came with a little cacti wearing a fake sombrero and sunglasses my brother and I forced my Mum to buy us from Tesco in 2013. We named him Vernon (the only houseplant I have with a name) and he was sassy AF and I took him to university with me and cared for him there for 2 years. Vernon made it back with me when I graduated and now lives on my spare bedroom bedside table to cheer (attack?) guests.
For my birthday last year my parents, upon my request, bought me a mini greenhouse from IKEA and my Mum potted up 3 cacti she had in our house for me. That basically kicked it off and suddenly another trip or 2 to IKEA and I had some of those mini cacti, you know the ones, the colourful little pots (I have 3 pink and 3 green). Then came 2 mahoosive succulents followed by a little one and whadda ya know the greenhouse was full - it lives on my living room windowsill.
Since about Christmas last year I calmed down and moved onto fake cacti and everyone seemed to come with me - for Christmas I had ceramic IKEA cacti, cacti candles, polystyrene cacti, fake cacti and succulents in hanging planters, in pots....you name it I was bought it.
Then come March this year someone was getting rid of two succulents so naturally they ended up on my kitchen windowsill. That was soon followed by yet another trip to IKEA which saw 3 lovely green succulents come home with me which made a home in my living room and then to top it all off my Mum got rid of a ginormous spiky house plant that now has pride of place in my front porch.
What To Buy;
I mean this is obviously personal preference but I can only recommend what I know. I personally like anything very green and low maintenance which is why you'll find my house full of cacti and succulents. I know people like Bonsai's, spider plants, decorative grasses....all are good options and all really brighten up your home.
I'd recommend reading what maintenance your chosen house plant needs, what care is requires and how much effort you're going to have to put in. If you're up for potting on and pruning and have the time and dedication for a more highly strung plant then great, if you want no fuss go cacti. If you have kids or pets or a clumsy boyfriend and spiky plants isn't your thing, maybe go succulents.
And if all of the above doesn't work for you then the high street is full of amazing fakes.
My recommendations for house plant shopping;
- B&Q
-Homebase
-IKEA
(& Primark, Matalan and New Look for the fake ones!)
How To Care For Them;
Again, this completely depends on the type of plant you buy and you should definitely read any information that comes with the plant when you buy it. If there's nothing with the plants try asking someone who works there or if all else fails - Google.
I luckily have a Mum who is not only a keen gardener as a hobby and a gardener by trade but it also a whizz at horticulture knowledge. All I need to do is send her a photo of what I've bought and she'll tell me when to water it, where to keep it and how often to do it.
For the majority of succulents and cacti the general rule is as much sunlight as possible and as little water as possible. Windowsills or a glass porch like mine are ace places especially if they get the morning or the evening sun but generally just anywhere that isn't in a dark corner should do the trick.
Watering wise, as little as you can without killing them off should do them good. I water mine probably once a fortnight at best and they're all green and healthy and flourishing. I water mine one of two ways depending on how long it's been since I last remembered to water them. I recommend investing in a little water sprayer (like a bottle of cleaning spray) and spraying them a little bit every week or two weeks. Other than that, if you've forgotten for a while and they need a bit more of a hefty soaking you can put them in the sink or in a tray (baking trays do just fine) and put about 2cm of water in and let them sit in it for an hour or so until they've soaked it up through their roots.
Why You Need Some;
Essentially, a home is a million times brighter and lighter with them in it. My Mum's always had plants and flowers in the house so I took it for granted until I had a place of my own. It feels like you're house is alive when there's things living and growing in it and it brightens up a room to have it full of greenery.
Whether they be fake ones, real ones, spiky ones or huge ones, I 100% recommend you get on the blogger trend of 2017.
Shop all the house plant goodies here!
This post includes affiliate links -if you make a purchase via the links above it won't cost you any more but I will earn a little bit of commission.
