A Little More Greenery

Since spring is finally here, I thought it would be the perfect time to bring some greenery into my apartment. For me, this is somewhat ambitious.

I have had plants before, some more successfully than others. In graduate school, before I had Bucky, I had two lovely plant roommates that lived in colorful pots on my windowsill. Unfortunately, both were toxic for pets, so when Bucky moved in, they moved out. Back then, I also grew my own cherry tomatoes in large

planters on my deck, which were a delicious contribution to many salads before they got too fried in the August heat. My apartment in Saint Louis only has a small shared patio, so those were also left behind in Iowa.

There are two big considerations in my search for plants:

1. They need to be easy to care for. With my crazy schedule, I cannot own anything that needs a lot of time or attention (minus Bucky). I also need plants with fairly explicit care instructions. I'm not really going to sit and time how many hours of sunlight a certain spot gets, to make sure it is a good fit for the plant. I'd like to see a plant that says "No matter where you put me in your house...you'll still probably kill me." That's probably more accurate.

2. They cannot be toxic for cats. As I said earlier, B ucky is a chomper. He chews on everything, especially plants and flowers (not to mention paper towel rolls per our morning adventure...).

I don't trust that he's smart enough to not eat something that will hurt him, so I had to double check a few safety guides before purchasing anything. I found this helpful resource from the ASPCA.

I ventured out to the grocery store this morning to get ingredients for a cake, and wandered into the florist section. Two new friends came home with me - a phalaenopsis orchid (for just $13.99), and an African violet (just $3.99). Now, orchids are often known to be tricky plants to take care of. But after reading through the care instructions, this one seems very doable. African violets are a very common house plant, so I think I'll be okay. I'm hoping to get some additional leafy plants to add to the collection, they didn't have any at the grocery store today.

Of course, the minute that I set the plants down, Bucky's face was immediately in them. I'm not sure how long they'll make it, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

I originally put the orchid on top of my bookshelf in the living room (on which I'm currently doing a little mini-makeover...more info and pictures coming soon).

As that is one of Bucky's favorite places to sit, I began having visions of it scattered across the floor, and immediately relocated to a coffee table.

A similar situation arose with the African violet, which would be adorable on my nightstand (as per the picture), but Bucky frequently walks back and forth over it to get to the window. It's

still awaiting it's permanent location.

I love how bringing some plants in can really liven up the space though. Now if only I can get "you-know-who" to appreciate them from afar.

This last picture is of another amazing find from the grocery store...red velvet cake donuts. YUM! This made an amazing addition to my morning coffee. Now off to a cold, rainy BBQ with my Dreamsicle cake!

K