For the Love of Houseplants (and art-making)

nurturing a lifelong obsession with curiosity, observation and patience

some of the plants keeping me company in my studio

Last month I admitted to being a lifelong houseplant fanatic.

I grew up in a plant-filled home with a gardener mom.

throughout my childhood, my mom always grew the most beautiful African violets

My family were members of the Chicago Botanic Garden and we regularly visited it in every season. Walking through the greenhouses in the middle of winter felt magical. And a house filled with plants felt like a normal part of life.

Wherever I’ve lived — from my childhood bedroom to my college dorm to my first apartment to my first house — I’ve fit plants into the spaces (and always dreamed about adding more).

It’s fascinating to look back and think about my influences and obsessions and the progression of my feelings about plants and what I want to grow. Fueled by greenhouse visits and my mom’s books, my imagination ran wild with fantasies of living in a conservatory-like space.

I’m still striving for it today.

I have room for more, don’t you think?

In my early days of indoor gardening, flowers, fragrance and fruit were my main obsessions (reading Tovah Martin’s Essence of Paradise helped fan those flames). Citrus were, perhaps, the epitome, and over the years I’ve almost always had at least one.

Meyer Lemons and Key Limes growing in my studio — the lemon lost a lot of leaves when it came inside in the fall, but it, and those gorgeous fruits, are hanging on.

With the many phases of my plant fantasies on my mind, it was fun to find this article from Better Homes and Gardens about houseplant trends through the decades. I’ve also been paging through my collection of houseplant books. A majority of them were published between 1991-2001. Some of the styling looks dated, but many of their photos bring back intense reminders of their strong influences.

My houseplant books; the top two books fall outside of the date range and were published in 2012 and 1978 respectively. The one with the pink spine is Essence of Paradise.

These days I’m happy with any plant, as long as it thrives. But I’ll admit, lately I’m especially smitten with colorful or patterned foliage.

One of my newest plants is this pretty syngonium.

I can’t wait to paint those leaves!

It’s tucked between other colorful plants. Growing nearby is a variegated rubber plant, Ficus elastica “Tineke,” and two variegated Tradescantia varieties (you can see them better in the top photo). On the ledge above are three variegated hoyas and cuttings of Philodendron “Brasil” and Satin Pothos “Silvery Anne.”

Two orchids and a lipstick plant mingle among those other plants because, of course, I still love flowers.

a goldfish plant and two lipstick plants

Even though I grew up with my mom’s beautiful collection, I’ve never had much luck with African violets. I may try again, but for now, I’m sticking with easier gesneriads.

If something isn’t working, try something else!

Goldfish plants (Nemanthus) and lipstick plants (Aeschynanthus) are easy to grow and their flowers are colorful and dramatic (the middle lipstick plant is next on my to-paint list).

Streptocarpella and Streptocarpus are the other flowery gesneriads growing in my windows.

a streptocarpella and two streptocarpus

To be honest, my Streptocarpus plants aren’t the happiest right now so I’ve moved them into a brighter, warmer window and am keeping an eye on them.

I dislike the term “green thumb,” or worse, “black thumb.” Anyone can grow plants. It’s not an exclusive club!

Curiosity, observation and patience are the keys to success.

I’m not always successful with everything I try, but I’m going to try.

And I’m glad I do.

I feel the same way about art. Anyone can make art, it’s not an exclusive club.

When I first felt the pull to start painting, I had no idea what I was doing. I wasn’t an artist. I had no background or training in art. But I was curious and the dream wouldn’t let me go.

Over time, through observation, trial-and-error and with lots of patience, I developed my skills as an artist.

painting this Tradescantia, a cutting from a dear friend, was such fun

If you’re dreaming about something, sometimes, you just need to take a leap.

One of my most dramatic gardening examples is my fiddle leaf fig.

I’ve seen it said, again and again, that fiddle leaf figs are finicky plants and hard to grow, but my conservatory-home fantasies wouldn’t allow me to let go of the dream of growing one. I think I got mine in July of 2015 (or at least that’s when I took this photo of the newly potted plant):

Repotting it last summer was a two-person job:

one of the hardest parts was maneuvering it out of the house!

I do struggle with some plants, but I’ve never struggled with my fiddle leaf fig. It’s always threatening to take over the living room and I need to keep trimming it so it doesn’t.

I stick the pruned pieces in water because I can’t bear to discard what I trim. They’re amazingly easy to root, so much so that I have seven “baby” plants throughout the house (did you spot a few in the other photos?) and I’ve given more away.

It reminds me of what sweet Ginny says about gardening: “plants don’t know what it says in the books.”

What if I hadn’t taken the chance and tried growing a little fiddle leaf fig? What if I hadn’t responded to the pull to pick up a paintbrush?

My life would look so much different.

Let’s not be afraid to get our hands dirty!

Be curious. Experiment. Pay attention. And enjoy the beautiful connections we can make with nature and with ourselves.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with houseplants (or with art-making if you want to share!). What influences have shaped your development as a gardener? What excites you most? Do you have a favorite plant? What are your favorite resources for learning about houseplants? Are there trends you’re itching to try?

I’ll be back again next month talking more about houseplants, including sharing some books I’m enjoying and projects I’ve been tackling. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to work them in, too.