Gardening

Office Plants Edition

Look, I have no excuses for the growing (pun intended) collection of office plants except that they make me super happy and proud that I’ve kept them alive. They give me oxygen, clean the air, and also provide dopamine. There are three plant ladies in my office and I gave some spiderwort to one of them so now both of our offices are exploding with them. She gives them away to people who even look remotely interested.

Heart Philodendron- this one started, if you can believe it, as a few struggling cuttings from my buy nothing group, as well as a very overgrown clearance plant from the fancy plant store. It’s doing really well at the office, as you can see! The cup was given to me last spring by a dear friend and it now stands as a memorial to her, as she passed away from unexpected health complications. It reminds me when I see both the mug and the new growth, to stop and appreciate my friends, family, and other blessings.

Shark Pot- Variegated, Hoya Spiderwort/Inch plant variety for the other two. I’ve killed two hoyas by not enough light and overwatering, so this is my last attempt at it, I think. This one seems hardier than the other two though, so I have high hopes for it. The big spiderwort was given to me by a coworker, who had a client come in with a cup full of water and these giant vines. My coworker said they wouldn’t grow well in her office because of the light, but knew I had other varieties of them. Who am I to refuse free plants?! Spiderworts are fascinating because they really follow the light and are very agile. They do eventually die out along the bottom of the plant and you have to keep cutting them to keep them under control so you just have a continuous stream of new plants.

Garden pot- Spiderwort variety (seriously, this thing will not quit, even though it looks a little sad. Be-leafing pot- Swiss Cheese Plant (mini Monestera): I’m surprised this one likes me! Nerve plant in the polka dot plant. These are so dramatic and I love them for it. They are actually pretty hardy as long as you water them when they start to droop. You can also see my accidental adventuring group, my fidget shark, a snail made from a shell, and a tiny clay fairy made by a friend on the side.

Ignore the messy shelf. It’s been a terrible month and I did just reorganize after taking the picture. The spider plant on the left has two babies! It also got some babies from a friend, so it’s got a stolen baby from my Mom’s plant, two from my friend’s plant, and then the rest is the original plant. You can’t see it well, but in the flamingo planter, there’s a zebra haworthia, which seems to be doing well. the Aloe plants are from a friend and I think I maybe overwatered it by accident, so it’s feeling a little rough. There’s a kalanchoe from a former intern in the blue patterned pot. More spiderwort in the grounded pot and in the rooting vase. A string of hearts that I haven’t killed yet (it’s maybe not so happy with me though,) and the original green variety of spider plant. I used to not like them, but as it turns out, I’m good with them, so I decided to try my hand at keeping a few. All the ones I stole from my mother (yes, she knows now, but I was sneaky at the time) are growing really well, so… I guess I like them now.

Once I rearrange my home houseplants, I’ll have to give you a tour of those as well. I think they have all adjusted to living in my house and I’ve got a reminder set to check if they need water twice a week. My office plants bring a lot of connection with clients, I’ve found, and they make my office seem more comfortable and homey as well. Most of the ones there haven’t done well at home, so I’m glad I’m able to bring them in and give them more space. I hope they bring you a little joy too!

As a bonus picture, this is what my coffee table looked like the day I had a few unexpected cancellations and decided to repot my spiderworts. You can see what they do in the white pot when the bottom leaves start to die off. Don’t worry, I did clean it all up and my table looks good as new. Lol.