I HAVE A SECRET LOVE FOR HOUSEPLANTS. Their textured leaves, the way they grow when you aren’t watching, the dash of color they add to room. A few times now Bauer has uninvitedly decorated our hardwood floors with shredded plant pieces. And once that happened for the third time I held off on replacing them. For a really long time, ha! …Until last week.
Sometimes I let our “we are renters” status get the best of me. I won’t buy something, make something, do something, because I know this isn’t our forever home. It’s really a terrible habit, one I need to kick.
But then I had a realization: I don’t want to keep waiting for a “better” home or time, when really the best time is now. I know where it’s gotten me with making friendships {it’s been a long process + I wish I would have tried harder a couple years ago}. I know where it’s gotten us with finding a church {not a demon church –wink!}.
So I decided to stop waiting + start planting. It’s now or never, baby!
There are a couple local Minneapolis nurseries I like to visit, and one of my favorites is Bachman’s. They have a beautiful, large greenhouse, surely they’ll have a few plants for me to take home? :) Anna met me there last week for coffee — they have a large gift section + little cafe, and as we looked at their plants we giggled over the different terrarium fairies + scary looking cactus’s — cacti? — cactus?
I found a few plants to take home, and the next day I made {yes, made} myself go outside + play with what I had bought. Working on this project reminded me of how much I love working on projects like this.
Gathered around me were my new plants, some fresh soil, a watering can, two little terracotta pots, a yellow ceramic pot, and a pathetic looking practically-dead terrarium. I shopped the house for most of these items, look at what I found:
So cute, it’s like the Whitley Family Plant + Pot Collection, Class of 2012. I lined everyone up and thought about what to work on first… My terrarium from last year needed a serious refresher so I decided to start with that.
First I would need some fresh soil. The sand + charcoal layers were still OK; these things help imitate a natural environment for the plants. But the soil, that needed to be replaced. I scooped about six large handfuls into the glass globe.
This put about 2.5″ of soil inside the bowl ~ I made sure to smooth it around so it became an even layer of nutrition for the plants.
The three succulents I bought at Bachman’s are about 4″ tall. It’s important to select plants that are smaller than your glass globe so your terrarium can work properly. Succulents + cacti are the easiest to work with — ferns require a lot more water, and they aren’t as easy to trim if they grow too tall. And I believe you can re-plant the leaves from succulents and they’ll regrow? But don’t quote me on that ;)
Water your succulent terrarium every 2 weeks or so. You can put your finger inside the soil to test how hydrated it is. One tablespoon of water per plant or lightly mist the entire area of soil a few times. See? Easy.
The little fairies + garden accessories don’t catch my attention, but I think a tiny terracotta pot {or two} is adorable inside a terrarium. I nestled them inside each other and stuck the bottom into the soil a bit. The pop of natural red clay is so striking against the green succulents. Love…
Almost finished! I watered everything just a bit, wiped down the inside of the bowl with a wet paper towel, and brought the refreshed terrarium inside. Depending on the type of terrarium you make, place your globe in an area of your home that will get the right amount of sunlight. Diffused light is best for succulents, but not too much light.
So the last plant I bought is this colorful flora {below}. I’m accidentally threw away the plastic card that tells you all about the plant, but I do remember that it was described as “sassy” so, HELLO! into the cart you go!
The leaves are green with pink vein-like pattern. It really is so cute :)
I really need to work on playing with plants more often. For about $10 I was able to buy three succulents + a small houseplant, and to think of the joy they’ve already brought me in just one week. I was able to spend an afternoon outside planting them, it was a gorgeous day too, and I did something that I knew would improve not only the inside of our home but the inside my soul.
Here are some cacti {golly I hope that’s the right tense} I’ve had for almost a year. They are leaning a bit but if I didn’t type that out would you have even noticed? Probably not. All I need to do is make sure I get back on track with watering them every couple of weeks + rotate the pot every couple of days. In no time they’ll be back to their prickly, stiff self.
Oh, and while I was planting my new plants I also played with Mr. Bauer {melt my heart}:
Stop waiting // start planting. That’s my personal motto for this season of life. Do you have a personal motto? What could you apply this to — it doesn’t even have to be literal, you can “plant” practically everything :)
I love the “sassy” plant hehehe..
I have just planted some cucumber seeds ;) it has been fun not only for me but the girls too, to watch them grow…
Think I might have a go at making my own terrarnium next ;)
Claire x
@Claire, Have you seen on Pinterest how to grow your own green onions? That would be so easy, basically you put it in a glass of water and in a few weeks they’ve grown into something edible!
@Gussy Sews, No, I haven’t seen those, that would be so great for the girls , they would be able to do that themselves!!
Thank you for letting me know, off to pin hehehehe..
Claire x
I admire your green thumb! I love plants inside (and outside) but I tend to kill them… I either try too hard, or not enough… Luckily I married a man who loves gardens and has a green thumb! I get to enjoy the plants without feeling guilty.
Love your terrarium, might have to talk my hubby into one of those.
@Megan Biddle, YES make a terrarium — they are so fun + I love how cute they are!
We are renters and I have struggled with the same thought pattern as you. For a long time I did not accept that this house was our home. I always thought of this place as temporary. Well 8 years later we are in the same house. It dawned on me last year that we had no plans on going anywhere anytime soon and we needed to turn our house into a home. It has been a slow process but it is coming along. As I make small changes I am loving our home more and more. I hope your small changes bring a happy smile to your face each time you see them! I also can’t wait to see you carry out your new motto in all the other areas of your life! XO
@teri lynn, YEOW! go us, go us! :) what kind of things are you doing to make your rental more of a home for your family? :)
@Gussy Sews, One big thing I have started doing was making the rooms more complete. For a while I felt like we just threw pieces of furniture in a room or put pictures on a wall but it did not always flow. I have re-done three rooms so far and before I even touched the room I daydreamed for a long time of the vision I wanted. Our living room has four main colors that are tied together by the area rug. The only decor in the room is a ton of framed pictures of my family. I love being surrounded by the memories and photographs. In our bedroom I painted two walls, purchased an actual bed, and tied it together with two main colors. The last room I have redone is our dinning room. We were unexpectedly given a beautiful table and chair set. My mom and I recovered the chairs in a fun strip, I painted one wall, and hung some more pictures. I have one wall to finish in the room but I have yet to find the right thing to hang there. Fairly simple but I love how each room really has it’s own “theme” and feel. Thanks for asking! (And sorry for the really long response! :))
SOLD! I”ll do this this weekend. I need something on my kitchen counter and this would be perfect!
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. I have found myself in the exact same “renter’s mindset” lately but I’m slowly realizing that it shouldn’t matter if our situation is short-term or long-term, I should still try to make our home a place we LOVE. I can’t keep waiting until we find the perfect home, I should put my energy into making our rental FEEL like the perfect home. Constantly waiting for something better to come along is a toxic way to think. Focusing on being content in the here and now is good for the soul! Thanks for the inspiration!
@Lindsey, Maybe your rental will become a long-term home for your family, and if that’s the case, you know that is what’s meant to be. I may be 26 but I’m so done with this type of mindset :) Taking more risk, spending $10, living a more fruitful life — that’s what I want to be doing. xoxo
I love houseplants, too. Peace lilies are great, b/c they are so low-maintenance and forgiving.
@Emily, My mom is a peace lily lover, too :D
I love gardening! I feel like it honestly teaches me so much about who God is. I did a post on it too once :) Glad I found your blog.
How wonderful! I love your motto. We have rented for 6 years, and I feel like I wasted about 4 of those years waiting for us to have our own house. I think for me, I always loved the phrase “bloom where you are planted.” I think that goes right along with your new motto :)
I’ve been wanting to start a garden. Maybe this would be enough to make me happy for a bit ;)
We just moved from one rental place to another. I think I may have the opposite problem as you–I want to start over and redo (as in buy new chairs, decor…changable things!) everything! But, we’ll probably only live in this place for about 1 1/2 years (until my hubby graduates and gets a job). I have to find that balance between making it a home and yet also using what I have :) Planting some lovely greens are definitely on my to-do list!
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