These plants grow so fast!

Spider plants and pothos newly hung and 3-4 months later

I'm focusing on easy care plants in the apartment and on the balcony these days and these two stalwarts absolutely fit the bill. 

I haven't had much luck with spider plants indoors: two died and one fell over on its head when I pushed the table it stood on. So I got two more and hung them outside in the entry. Guess what? Some big, gross moth larvae attacked them almost immediately and chomped half the leaves to stumps! I happened to go out there in the middle of the night a few times and caught the chompers in the act. I destroyed them and voila! The spiders are now growing happily. Keep it up, my lovelies!

Then there's the pothos. My lawd. I swear this is the easiest plant EVER for pots and hanging containers. It hardly ever needs watering. Never seen a pest go near it. Fertilize when you feel like it. And this baby grows, and grows--just keeps sending out these lovely long vines that drape so elegantly. If the vines become leggy after a while just clip them back and there it goes again. It even tolerates low light; the only difference is that if it's a variegated variety the contrast will be less pronounced--there will be much less of the lighter color as the plant maximizes the green surfaces of the leaves to process what little light there is.

If you're a new indoor gardener, or an experienced plant mom or dad who just doesn't want to deal with finicky plants right now, spider plants and pothos are the way to go.

Happy planting, greenies!

Spider plants have amazing flowers!

I've had spider plants for years, and I'm aware that they send out tiny white flowers that become the spider babies for which this plant is famous. But I never realized just how beautiful these tiny white flowers were until recently when I hung two spider plants at eye level. The blooms are just half to three-quarters of an inch wide, but they are utterly breathtaking. 

Pristine white petals and yellow stamens - exquisite!

Here's my hand for scale - and no, I don't have a gigantic hand!

Closeup of spider plant bloom courtesy my trusty iPhone! So lovely!

See the buds in this pic? More blooms and more baby spiders to come!

Delicate, airy fairy flowers of the spider plant

This is one of the spider plants currently beautifying my porch

Here's all the proof you need, thanks to the magic of an iPhone camera! I've always loved spider plants for their beautiful and graceful foliage and the babies they grow on their own shoots, but now I have a whole new appreciation of their tiny white flowers as well! 

Interestingly, spider plants are not as easy to grow as I thought: I've tried several indoors and both died after a few months. I did not overwater and I did not let them dry out; one was right next to a window where it got lots of light - but they died all the same. (One was a pure green, and the other was the white-striped as in the photo above, so it's not a peculiarity of a single variety.) The one on my balcony survived and I recently bought a second; it's these two that I hung in the porch--and they're flourishing thus far! 

Keep growing, greenies!

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Blue, blue, my world is blue

This plumbago is one of two that I kept in big pots on my balcony. The unusual blue flowers are simply gorgeous! These grow best in full sun and don't like to be overwatered. I live three floors up in an apartment building and this was the first plant on my balcony to attract hummingbirds. 💖💖💖 

My plumbago plants tend to bloom in flushes.  After every flush I trim off the spent flower shoots, remove the top layer of potting mix and top up with fresh soil, fertilizing with slow release pellets at the same time. If you grow them in the ground this consistent renewal and fertilizing isn't necessary; plumbago will spread and drape and thrive in regular soil once it gets lots of sunlight.

Confession: I became so enchanted by these sky blue flowers that I went in search of other plants with blue blooms for a section of my future yard that I plan to call "The Blue Garden". It's going to be beautiful. 

Green, growing things

I'm taking a break from monitoring the parlous state of the world to focus on things that give me joy, namely plants--my plants, my mother's plants, my friends' plants, and the plants and trees all around me here in the Southern Caribbean and wherever I might roam when the world is no longer in pandemic mode. 

Angel's trumpet (brugmansia)

This is a peach angel's trumpet (brugmansia) in my mother's garden. It's a stunning plant with huuuuge perfumed blooms that range in length from 6 - 20 inches. It's one of my favorite ornamental plants, quickly growing to the size of a large shrub or small tree. The pleasant fragrance is most noticeable in the evening. Fun fact: This shrub contains a deadly poison similar to the one found in the deadly nightshade.

I've been sharing plant pics on Instagram as @thegardeningwriter. I try to post one every day, and this focus has helped to save my sanity during the worst of the lockdown. I've decided to share some of them here on my neglected writing blog as well. Enjoy!