Taking Care Of Indoor Plants With Irene

I have delightful childhood memories of walking into my grandmother’s dining area.  Taking care of indoor plants was her specialty!  The dining area was sunny and bright and in both corners, beautiful, lush ferns hung from floor to ceiling on poles. It was a few years down the track before those fond memories inspired me to embark on my own indoor gardening adventures.

Carefully, I chose new plants and brought them home with every intention of growing a thriving, lush and healthy plant.  The trouble was, I really new nothing about taking care of indoor plants!  And I knew even less about the specific plants I had purchased. It wasn’t a good start to indoor gardening for a beginner.

We’ve all had those house plants that just keep hanging on. They’re not dying, but not really thriving either.  That was me. Despite lovingly tending to my plants, trying to give them the right amount of water and putting them in just the right spot, they just weren’t thriving!  Then there was the ones that I brought home and within weeks they were gone!  My hopes for beautiful, flourishing house plants were slowly fading and I began to wonder if I would ever have the skills for taking care of indoor plants so I could have my own garden sanctuary like in my grandmother’s dining area.

easy houseplants to keep alive

7 Essential Tips For Taking Care Of Indoor Plants

Get all the tips and tricks you need for healthy, thriving indoor plants.

You Can Learn The Skills For Taking Care Of Indoor Plants

The Water Balance

When I started with house plants, I killed more than I would like to admit, mostly because I lovingly overwatered them. Getting the watering right for your indoor house plants can be tricky. My best tip for every beginning indoor gardener is to invest in a soil moisture meter. They’re not expensive and they really do take the guesswork out of watering your plants, which is probably one of the trickiest things to learn when taking care of indoor plants.

It’s also important to have well-draining soil, and to ensure that your plants roots aren’t sitting in water. Double pots or saucers are great to allow excess water to be removed.

The Light Balance

Positioning your plants so they are receiving the right amount of light is equally as important as watering. Too much light and indoor plant leaves may be burnt, too little light and they won’t be able to adequately photosynthesise in order to produce healthy growth. Think about where the plant would naturally grow and try to place it in a similar situation in your home. It is quite surprising how dramatically the light drops when you move away from windows, and how different the light can be between north-facing or south-facing windows. All these factors need to be taken into consideration and you may find grow lights to be helpful for those darker corners where you would love a plant to brighten things up.

Get To Know Your Plants

All plants are different in how much water they require and there are many factors that affect each individual plant. The amount of water a plant requires will depend on:

  • the plant’s water requirements
  • the size of the pot
  • the type of pot
  • the type of soil
  • the number of leaves
  • the air temperature
  • the amount of light it receives
  • and the list goes on.

It really is important to get to know your plants individually, observe them and feel the soil. And remember, it is ok to lose a few plants along the way.  Be sure to learn something from the loss and keep going. This was my journey.

Eventually, when I matched the right plant to the right spot and gave it the right care, I felt such a sense of achievement. It really was worth persisting! I had grown and nurtured my own beautiful house plants, and once you have done it once, you can do it again and again. There are so many beautiful and intriguing house plants available, and there’s always room for one more!

If there’s a bit of light in my home, then there’s room for a plant.  At one point during COVID my daughters and I were getting quite carried away propogating differen Pothos varieties.  We had over 80 plants around the house.  Since then we have sold some, we’ve given some away, some have been combined into one pot and some are just trailing beautifully from a shelf in the bedroom.

Over the years I have learnt to enjoy my plants.  They put a smile on my face. I love my outdoor plants as well, but the indoor ones can be trickier to grow really well, which is why this website exists.  To help other plant lovers enjoy their plants, have fun caring for them and learning about them, and sharing that joy with others.

 

The Help You Need Is Here

This site is dedicated to providing inspiring indoor gardening ideas and helpful advice to get you started with the right plants and the right products for taking care of indoor plants. I want your adventures to be more successful than my early days and I even have recommendations for nearly indestructible house plants!

You’ll find tips for indoor gardening for beginners and some suggestions for indoor gardening that you may not have thought about. Have a look around, see what you can find.  Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to try a new plant – you can do it!  Or if you’re more experienced, step into something new, maybe try hydroculture or terrariums! Taking care of indoor plants is good for the soul, find a plant you love today.

Indoor gardening for beginners

My Indoor Plant Gallery

Just a few of my favourite house plants that have taught me about taking care of indoor plants.  These are some of my favorites, and if you look closely, you’ll notice they’re not perfect… there’s the odd brown leaf tip or leaf tear.  That’s OK for me, I’m not a professional gardener and my houseplants are for me to enjoy, and I do, despite their imperfections.  I guess if you want perfect plants, you could go artificial? But to me, that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun – I love watching new leaves unfold.  Hope you enjoy taking care of your indoor plants too!

monstera adansonii

Monstera adansonii

One of my favourites! In less than a year it has grown form the height of the short stick all the way up the branch!

taking care of indoor plants - maidenhair

Maidenhair

This is such a tiny and delicate fern, a real beauty.  It’s the maidenhairs that remind me of my grandma.

taking care of indoor plants - peace lily

Peace Lily

So easy to care for and so lush and green… a must have house plant. Best of all, it droops when it’s needs a drink.

fiddle leaf fig

Fiddle Leaf Fig

I overwatered this one and nearly lost it.  It was down to one leaf, but now it’s thriving in the right spot.

peperomia

Peperomia

Love the glossy, dark leaves on this easy to care for beauty.  It’s never given me any trouble.