Green Thumbing in my Quarantine Garden

Adding life to our home with plants

Becoming a plant lady – A few months ago we a couple of plants.. and now we have 15… That moved quickly. Before I knew it, adding plants to my patio and plant life to my home had become my new favorite hobby. House plants have the ability to dramatically improve your health, this article from Prevention describes just a few of the benefits of adding houseplants into your home. To calm myself from the stress of the COVID-19 epidemic and work, I found that nurturing our garden brought peace and healing to my life. There is something peaceful about the breeze flutter the leaves of a tree. You can see, feel, and even smell the wind blowing through the plants. I found that even the process of potting and watering plants indoors and outdoors is a time of meditation and self-care.  I love to feel the raw earth and muddy dirt in my hands as I work with the plants. Now that I have plants in my home and on my patio, I don’t know how I ever lived without them.

I found these stylish planters at TJMaxx for $25 each. Yes, I’m a maxinista! I did have to drill a hole in the bottom of these pots to allow the plants to properly irrigate.

Time to Repot

Our Mass Cane plant has grown tremendously over the last few months and it needed a refresh. The pot was too small and it was starting to topple over. With a quick repotting, our little corn plant looks fabulous. If you are wondering whether it’s time to repot your plants, check out 5 Signs it’s Time to Repot Your Plant by Black Girls With Gardens.

I also noticed there are a few leaves with brown tips.  When houseplants start to show brown tips on their leaves it can mean several things. In my case, I believe it could be poor watering habits, (I didn’t have a regular schedule for watering my plants)  It can also mean there are chemicals or minerals in my water from the tap. A quick tip for watering plants: Put water in a bucket and let it sit for at least a day before watering your plants. This allows time for the chlorine and fluoride normally found in municipal water to dissipate. I know the water in our home is not very good, which is why we use a Pur water filter to drink water daily. The extra minerals or chemicals in the water may be causing the brown tips on our leaves. I’m going to try starting a watering schedule and see if that makes a difference. I’m using the Planta App to help with my plant maintenance. See the details below!

I bought some perky purslane to add to the newly free pot and it works perfectly.

Planta – A Plant App to Get You Started

Plants I recommend for all levels of green thumbs:

I typically buy my plants from the local nursery, Home Depot, or Lowes.

• Indoor
  • Asterisk Ivy
  • Mass Cane / Corn Plant
  • Rubber Plant
  • Snake Plant
• Outdoor Garden
  • Blueberry bush
  • Rosemary
  • Thai Basil
  • Lavender
  • Petunias
  • Purslane
  • Gardenias
  • Germanias