choosing the right plants for your home

I’ve never had a so called “green thumb”, but I’ve always had an itch to fill my home with greenery, and in a perfect world be able to harvest regularly from a little veggie and herb patch out the back. Though I haven’t quite mastered the veggie patch just yet, I’ve come a long way from killing my succulents in my uni days, and managed to grow my 50cm fiddle leaf fig into a proud standing 2m beast.

Yep, I’m proud of that one, in case you couldn’t tell.

Now, even though I’ve managed to ace my fiddle-game (which I put down mostly to beginners luck), I’m the last person on the planet that should be giving you plant advice. I am however, going to introduce you to Mikaylah, who runs a gorgeous Instagram account called Avo’s Forage, and sells plants of all shapes and sizes on Sydney’s northern beaches. I can’t quite remember how I stumbled upon her account, but it was perhaps late at night, quietly but frantically searching for a big f-off cactus, that I had decided I now needed in our home.

 

Needless to say, Mikaylah delivered in a big way, and I thought I would send her a few questions about keeping plants at home. And if you want to get your hands on some, shoot her a DM on the ‘gram — she’s got the goods.

I love plants, but I can hardly keep myself alive. What types of plants would you recommend for someone like me?

The easiest plant that I have come across is the mother in law tongue, or sometimes also know as the snake plant.

It tells you exactly when it needs watering — it can be hard to tell sometimes when plants need watering, because it isn’t always based on how wet or dry their soil is! Most plants need certain amounts of water, no more no less. But the snake plants just need a good watering when their soil is dried and that’s it! Well, until they are dry again! But they’re super easy to tell! BUT if you forget like the most of us, they are a super resilient plant. They can take some tough love.

They also don’t need much light so they’re a good inside plant. But at the same time they are very tolerant with a variety of light conditions!

I jumped on the fiddle leaf fig bandwagon, and it was going well for a while, but now my fiddle’s leaves look “burnt” and overall really sad. What am I doing wrong?

You possibly could be overwatering him, in turn he is sitting in moisture which tends to mould & become a fungal infection.

One thing a lot of people don’t realise it that fiddle leaf fig plants breathe through their leaves. And as most fiddles are an inside plant, they’re also gathering dust and dirt, which clogs their leaves from breathing and taking in sunlight!

So wipe their leaves every few weeks with a soft cloth.

I live in an apartment. What would be the best plants for me to keep in a small space?

I live in a small space too & I love cactus because they’re tall and lanky and don’t take much space and are so easy to care for.

 

How often should I water my cactus, honestly?

This is something everybody has a different opinion on. Some say weekly others say monthly & others say let nature do the watering.

I personally go with the one month rule, I have found from my experience, over watering never ends up good for my cacti.

 

Any tips for what to do with my plants when I go away on a holiday?

Hmm. I’m still trying to master this.

I religiously water my plants every Monday morning. Because most of the plants I own are just weekly guys. So if I go away for longer, I do normally just ask a friend to water.

But there is a cool little trick I’m yet to try. You water your plant as per normal, then place a jug full of water next to pot, get a piece of string, and push it down a few inches into the soil and the other end in the jug and it will slowly drip and water your plant while your away!

3 Comments

  1. Nice posts ! I love the plants too! Do you know the name of the plant on the right side (first picture), the big one!! This one is really nice and I love the leaves!!! Thank you!

  2. I love the plants too! Do you know the name of the plant on the right side (first picture), the big one!! This one is really nice and I love the leaves!!! Thank you!

    1. Hi Corsica, yes that’s a fiddle leaf fig — my favourite. You can get them in various sizes too. We bought that one quite big, but I also have one that I bought when it was about 40cm tall, and it now towers over me 2 years later at 190cm! They’re amazing plants and easy going too. Good luck! x

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