Friday, October 2, 2009

Succulents and spider plants

I've kind of been obsessed over plants and planting these past few months.  DC started me off with a potfull of succulents on my birthday, which I left sitting precariously on a narrow window ledge and proceeded to knock off.  The poor things did not recover.


A few months later I treated myself to a couple more on a trip to Ikea:


new succulents


They started shedding their leaves:  the unfortunate victims of overwatering, methinks.  Within a couple of weeks they began to droop more and more.  I'd find their sad leafdroppings on the table, a little more each day.


dying succulents!


The fledgling hydrangea and spearmint cuttings didn't survive my week's absence in Hawaii, and since then I've failed on newer mint, as well as geranium, cuttings.  But I'm still determined to grow a healthy -- and free! -- mini garden!


My single hope is the spider plant that just. doesn't. stop.  I put it on the table that also holds my TV, open the windows to let the southern light in, and water every few days. 


spider plant[I deserve a prettier pot!]


And it even makes babies!  I am hoping to plant them in water or pots, and have little holiday prezzies for my coworkers and other friends.  The gift that keeps growing, indeed.  Here's a shot of my prototype, a baby terrarium.


spiderarrium[reused stemless wine glass terrarium]


It's easy to see when I need to water; just fill to rock level.  Peasy!  And super cute!  There will definitely be more of these guys in the future.

Of course I'll continue to collect cuttings from friends and family (and neighbors), too, keeping my fingers crossed for success one of these days.  Wishmeluck!

1 comment:

  1. Hey, I have been raising spider plants lately, too! A friend gave me a plant baby in January, and it's grown like crazy this year. Sylvia and I just potted up some of our plant's babies the other day, and she has one of the pots in her room (much to her delight!).

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