P is for Plants

I definitely do not have a green thumb. Which is weird, because when I was growing up my mom was obsessed with indoor plants and it sometimes felt like we lived in a greenhouse. She also loved gardening, and tells me that when I was super young I would follow her around in the yard and knew the names of different types of plants based on the shapes of their leaves. This is not the case anymore, I assure you.

I love the idea of plants and gardening; I just have no idea how to go about it. Every single time I buy a house plant, it dies. I put it in an area with the correct amount of light, water it at appropriate intervals, talk to it like a crazy person (okay, not really), but a few weeks later... I'm having a funeral for the poor thing.

For example, here is the orchid my friend Tara gave us for a housewarming gift. I followed the directions exactly: I put it in the bathroom where it's steamy, I watered it every 10 days, etc. but as you can see, no bueno. The blossoms fell off, followed by the leaves, and now I just have one big ugly mess. Which is sad, because it was a really beautiful plant.

However, I think I may have discovered the indestructible plant: BAMBOO. You know those super cheap bamboo shoots that you buy at IKEA? I bought some as an impulse purchase shortly after we moved in, and check it out!!
It's still green! The leaves are still attached! And I haven't done anything except fill up the water every now and then! I've finally discovered something I can keep alive!

Oh and there's also this plant I bought myself for my desk at work back in August. Even though it hasn't bloomed (and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to), I've been able to at least keep the leaves green.
Now here is my next dilemma... Spring is coming and I would really like to have some sort of planter box on our deck. I haven't had my own outdoor patio in years, and I'd really like to spruce it up a bit, but I'm terrified anything I put out there will die. But since I was able to keep the bamboo alive, maybe my thumb is getting a greener. Or it might be time to call Mom...