Plants in the Studio
There was a time when you would not have seen plants of any kind in my studio. As much as I love nature and the outdoors, I haven't had much luck with indoor plants. When I had plants at my first apartment, my cats delighted in knocking them off the windowsills. I would also forget to water them. Funny thing about plants - they don't demand attention the way furry pets do.
When my husband and I moved into our house in 2002, we had a few plants here and there, but neglect soon relegated them to the compost pile or a caring relative who offered to rescue them from my lack of green thumb.
So, when a friend sent me a Peace Lily after my father passed away in early 2019, I was determined to do much better this time. And I did, for awhile. I dutifully watered my Peace Lily when the soil felt dry. But it only flowered when I first got it and soon the leaves looked wilted. I started watering it more often and it perked up for a bit. But then I made a fatal mistake. I watered it with tap water that had gone through our water softener. I found out too late that plants cannot handle the extra salt in water softened water.
After that, I was gifted an African Violet, courtesy of the flooring company we used to install our kitchen floor during our kitchen remodel. I put it in the same spot where the Peace Lily had been since it was a low-light plant. A few weeks later, the leaves started to wilt just like the Peace Lily had. On a trip to the bookstore, I ended up finding a book about indoor plants and was shocked to discover that low light did not mean what I thought it meant at all. I thought I was providing the low, indirect sunlight that the African Violet needed, but it turns out, it didn't like its spot so far away from the windows. I moved the small plant to an east-facing windowsill and it took off like a rocket! All of a sudden, the plant had new tiny leaves growing. A few weeks later I saw the buds of flowers. And finally it flowered! Amazing.
That little victory gave me the confidence to buy my favorite plant to date - a Rabbit's Foot fern. I fell in love with the fern's delicate leaves when I saw it at a local garden center two springs ago. The leaves reminded me of the ferns I see when I walk in the woods. I quickly did some Googling to find out if the fern was poisonous to cats, since Benji loves to nibble on plants. It wasn't. Then I looked up the growing conditions it liked. Turns out Rabbit's Foot ferns like east-facing windows and temperatures between 68 and 75 degrees F. So it turned out to be the perfect addition to my studio.
This week my flourishing fern got a much needed transplant to a larger pot. I had been putting this off because I thought I might choose the wrong pot and inadvertently kill it. But it was looking so cramped inside its original pot that I decided to consult an expert. Luckily, my new friend, Katie, at Cottage & Vine had just the right pot for it and even offered to re-pot it for me. So far it seems happy in its new home and I am loving the look of the new pot in my studio.
I have taken so much inspiration from having plants in my studio. I even created a pattern inspired by the leaves of my little fern. Little by little, I'm learning more about what plants need to thrive. And, I'm finding that I thrive best when I can bring a bit of nature inside. As the plants and flowers in my neighborhood gradually die down, I am grateful for the life and beauty that remains indoors.
What helps you thrive in your life? How can you add more of that to your days this week? Is there something you think you can't do that you've been wanting to revisit?