the days are drifting slowly by
Despite everything, things have been getting better lately. I appreciate the many sunny days we’ve been having, and I think that’s been helping me find more energy to do things around the house. So I’ve started on my “plant parent” phase of quarantine, which was a good idea considering it’s Spring now.
At the start of April, I decided to look for garden planning/plant ID apps to help me keep up a regular schedule for watering and caring for the plants we already owned. I was determined to revive our neglected collection, a sad sight of crispy, wilted, yellow leaves. After briefly browsing, I downloaded Blossom. It seemed to have what I wanted (reminder capabilities as well as information about each of the plants I owned), and the UI was very easy to navigate. I didn’t know the names of most of our plants, so I took photos of the leaves and the app’s identification system found them right away.
The more I learned about my plants through the app, the more I realized how each needed different types of care. I’ve been putting a partial-full shade plant in direct sunlight! I’ve been watering my plants all at the same time! All these pots are way too small! That was how my day went as I began rearranging everything and setting up reminders tailored to each plant’s needs.
After checking each plant, we went to the store to buy some new pots and soil. I don’t know if any of these have ever been repotted, so it was definitely time to do so.
Some plants at the store.
In preparation, I bought a SATSUMAS plant stand from Ikea that I put together a couple days ago. It’s very sturdy, but our plants are all on the bigger side so I don’t think I’ll be able to put many on it.
My makeshift setup. As a kid I never minded getting dirty, always shoving my hands into sand, dirt, creeks and ponds. Repotting our plants reminded me of that simple joy, the feeling of the earth between my fingers. It’s been said thousands upon thousands of times, but gardening is an extremely therapeutic and healing process. It’s no wonder why people have picked up gardening and plant care during such difficult and tumultuous times.
I went with a general all-purpose container potting mix for my first foray into repotting, because to be honest I don’t know what the hell I’m doing yet but I figured it had enough nutrients to get myself started. As I learn more about (apartment) gardening, I’ll be improving the conditions for each plant as best I can.
Our tulips in their new pot. It’s bittersweet that tulips bloom like fireworks, dazzling and bright for only a month. But even for this short moment, it’s the loveliest thing.
Daffodils that we purchased today.
Our monstera, which I initially thought was a philodendron until I saw this leaf had fenestration. This is the only leaf to split, so I am eager to learn more about mosnteras and how to help take better care of them.
My mother’s dieffenbachia, which was originally a piece that had been broken off from her boss’ plant and given to her as a gift. It’s almost as old as I am and has been growing taller and taller each year. It really, really needs a bigger pot and more stability.
A gift from my uncle. There’s new growth at the top!
During the repotting process, three very delicate parts of our begonias snapped off (argh!), so I quickly started googling about whether or not I could save them. With a bit of trimming, I put them in a glass jar and with any luck they will hopefully propagate. I also made two cuttings on our monstera, so we’ll see how that goes!