Valentine’s day plants that will impress your houseplant lover

Flowers are ephemeral. This Valentine’s Day, why not treat your significant other to a potted plant? Cut flowers, as we all know, eventually die. With a little tender loving care, potted plants (and perhaps even cuttings) have a great chance of surviving for years to come — or at least past that one or two-week … Read more

3 easy plants for beginners

Dracaena on macrame

My very first plant was a bird’s nest fern, which is supposedly one of the easier houseplants out there. I beg to differ, however, after killing two in my day! Beautiful yet so incorrigibly finicky, ferns and calatheas are my sworn frenemies. As I’ve started collecting more plants, I realized that I didn’t have to … Read more

All about the ivy plant — AKA hedera helix

hedera ivy

Ivy is the definitive cottagecore trailing plant, even if it’s generally underrated in a world where tropical plants get most of the fanfare. After giving “ivy” a few listens (yes, I’m that Swiftie friend), I ended up picking two ivy plants as my first plant purchases of the year, a run-of-the-mill green hedera helix from … Read more

How the sagauro cactus became the symbol of the American Southwest

As a plant collector, I hadn’t quite noticed cacti until recently. Not until The Good Place made a Janet joke about them or until Taylor Swift casually posed with one. I previously prided myself on collecting plants that flirted with death should I forget to water them — calatheas, fittonias, ferns, and so on. Many dead plants later, … Read more

How to build a succulent container garden

Cacti and succulents never impressed me much, just like Brad Pitt to Shania Twain, you know? But during wintertime, these hardy babies are the only plants that fare well between the cold weather and my space heater. My collection consists mostly of succulent and cacti cuttings my mom’s garden and baby plants from my local … Read more

Plant haul: Hirt’s Garden + Grocery Outlet

Plant Haul

Oh, plant friends. My insatiable love for plants has been thoroughly satiated, suffice to say. It started with a few clicks online on the Hirt’s Garden site and ended with me jogging out of Grocery Outlet with an armful of Halo Top and new plants. I’ve got it bad for plant deals, what can I … Read more

A guide to arrowhead plants

Syngonium plant

Riding on election stress, I finally got my poorly manicured paws on a plant that’s been chilling at the bottom of my wish list: a syngonium podophyllum or arrowhead plant (or nephthytis triphylla)! I’ve seen this species at grocery stores and nurseries for under $15 but always felt inclined to buy something else instead. So … Read more

Plant update: Peperomia marcello

Peperomia Marcello

Introduction Hi, hello from one of my latest plant acquisitions — the peperomia marcello! (Sometimes called the amigo marcello.) Truth be told, I haven’t had the best of luck with peperomia (aka the radiator plant), mostly because I end up ignoring them and then shocking them with too much water or sunlight. But I’m holding … Read more

Plant Update: Mini plant haul at my local nursery and Grocery Outlet

New plant haul! I know, I know, I know I shouldn’t get any more plants, but these sparked joy, OK? And perhaps more importantly, they were budget friendly. I haven’t bought any plants for over a month now, and I think that a monthly buying schedule is healthy. Look at me trying to justify my … Read more

A short and simple guide to maranta plants

Hello from my lone surviving prayer plant! I am gravely fearful of any plant that requires too much humidity because I live in such a dry little nook of California. And guess what? Prayer plants *love* humidity! While I adore how prayer plants look with their whimsical and intricate foliage patterns, I’d be remiss not … Read more