Coming Home To Myself

Back in April I hit what I believe was my rock bottom with my allergies.  Sitting in my the exam room for my regular check in, I sobbed to my allergist that my life was just so small and so hard.  Loosing certain foods was almost too much to be born, and I just didn't know how I was to do that for the long term.

 

"You have to find replacements," she said.

 

How on earth do I do that? 

When food is so big in my life...in our family...and in our culture?

 

That little bit of advice - no matter how impossible it seemed in the moment - did sink through, and a month or so ago I made the decision to go to Lowe's Home Improvement to spend some time in the greenhouse.  I'd had a rough few days, and I desperately needed something to help me cope with the stress.  Spending time in greenhouses was something I used to do a very great deal of...until we had children, and like so many things it went by the wayside as my life was turned upside down.

 

You see, I fell in love with houseplants back in college.  At one point, I even worked for a local florist, and part of my job was to care for the plants in the store.  All through college and for years afterwords I kept many, many gorgeous growing things in my home.  If I had to guess, I'd say that I averaged 75 houseplants at any one given time over the course of 10 or so years.  I loved them dearly, and nothing was more fun or relaxing than spending a day watering, grooming, pruning, repotting, fertilizing....whatever they needed.  Every few weeks I would drive around to all of the local greenhouses, just to see if there was anything new.  It was heaven.

 

But I had forgotten.

 

As I walked up and down the rows of plants that evening, I felt something inside of me start to wake up.  I didn't go home with anything that evening, but I went back a few days later and have since started to slowly bring a few new babies home to add to the few that I've had for years.  The crazy thing is that not only has it been very good for my heart and soul, but it's also made our house feel more like a home.

 

I thought I'd introduce you to all of my green lovelies.  At this point, I'm content with what I have, but who knows...I'm always open to something new.

 

 I actually bought the big guy from a sale table several years ago.  He's found his happy place in our bedroom, where he's trying to take over.

(and my husband fixed the mirror right after I took this picture...)

 He's been joined by a new snake plant - which I've wanted for a long while.

 Rounding out the group is an antherium I rescued from a grocery store sale bin years ago.  He had grown root bound, so I've upgraded him.

 My husband bought me this giant "space" violet for mother's day.

 My bathroom is home to my collection of orchids.  They love it there, and reward me with frequent blooms.  The one on the left came home with me recently.

 The bathroom also houses a Christmas cactus I've had for several years and two new violets. 

 My BKB and I found this lovely on the sale table at Lowe's for only $12 recently.  We bought him together, split it apart, and now each have about half.  That's right...this is HALF of a $12 plant.  I'm not sure you can really tell how big it is from this angle, but it is a monster, and I adore it.

 My old pothos didn't rebound from it's recent trim like it usually does.  So, I bought two new small ones from the sale table and added them in with the little bit that survived.

 My fiddle leaf fig - I kid you not - is about 20 years old.

 My aloe is a year old.

 Every couple of years my spider plant dies back and I have to start over with some of it's babies.  We've just gone through the dying back phase, and I'm trying to save what's left while encouraging a pot of the babies.

 Chuck and Josh

 Starts from a friend...they need a pot very soon

 Extra hen and chicks should the squirrels get mine outside again.  They come from my parents' farm.

 The best improvement lately has been in my office/studio corner.  It's amazing what some plants do!  I'm soooo much happier with a little bit of green there.

 I went with tough, low-light plants.

 They are in pots the girls decorated for me years ago.

 And, of course, a new philodendron.  I adore them, and I adore hanging plants!

 Which is why I now have two varieties of Hoyas in my kitchen!  I'm really good with them, and can usually get them to bloom.  I've really missed having them in my home.

 I'm also more than a little partial to ivy.  This is the biggest of the new purchases.

 I decided to start small with other ivy varieties.  I'm kind of partial to variegated leaves, and I'm happy to say that I've found the perfect spot for them in this house.

Unusual leaf shapes are a plus.

The tricolors have always been a favorite.

Of the three wee ivies, this is the one that's not new.  It was a gift from church at the start of Lent. 

Violets are cheap, so I always have a lot of them around.

 I try to keep a variety of colors.

 The more the merrier!

 Seriously...I used to keep 30 at a time, and I had grow lights. Promise I won't go that far again!

I love strawberry begonias. I found this one on the sale table, and it needs a bit of tlc.

 

So that's everyone...for now!