Let’s Talk New Plants - and - Maybe a Little Silver Too

And Just Like That ..

We have some new additions to our plant family .. Two of them we brought home with us as a gift from my mother, after our visit to Delaware to visit with my parents. And the others we purchased from my niece and her FFA group at school for a BIG $1.00 USD each. hehehe.

That brings the grand total of house plants up to a whopping 42! They add up quickly.

First Up The African Violets ..

African Violets are not violets at all .. But are lovely, small plants that will grow relatively slowly and give year-round blooms. As long as they have what they need; light, water, and food, they will be happy and should continually bloom. You can see a few new buds, just below the flowers, that are on their way up.

On our recent travels to Delaware to see my parents .. My mom had just finished transplanting a couple of new African violets that had spawned from original plants. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with them so she offered them to us as a gift. I accepted! I’ve always loved admiring her African violets, and even took care of one for a while for her, while they were moving from New Jersey to Delaware. I don’t know why we never took on any of our own, but the wait is over. We now have two of our own thanks to Mom.

Thanks Mom!

We now have A standard, African violet plant that produces a white flower with a purple center, and a smaller purple flowered African violet plant that has a ball like shape to it.

If this new found love for African Violets is anything like our love of orchids, we are in trouble folks! Lol.

Now For The Succulents ..

Five tiny little succulent plants .. and I am not 100% sure exactly what kind they are. We purchased them, spare of the moment, as the FFA group that my niece belongs to, was cleaning up some leftover plants they had from a Valentine’s Day sale. If anyone out there knows what they are, feel free to leave me a comment below. I’ll eventually ask her but I’m not sure she will be 100% sure either what type of succulent it is. I have a lot to learn about African violets and succulents at this point, that it is not funny.

They are small and about the size of a Silver Dollar. I am sure they are going to get much larger than this, so I have to figure out how and in what type of pot I want to plant then. I will probably group them together in some fashion. I may want to pick up another (different) succulent from the hardware store to make a more interesting group of plants. I may even want to incorporate something like a stone or rock. Not sure yet.

I have them grouped together on the counter for now.. They’re sitting in a bright lit area that receives partially filtered sunlight at some point in the afternoon. I don’t plan on leaving them here forever, just buying a little time until we figure out exactly where we would like to place them. I also have to figure out exactly what the needs of the succulents are so I can place them in the right area of our home.

This much I know .. They like bright, direct sun lit areas.

Other Thoughts..

I was recently sitting here in the morning, having my coffee, and thinking about something… Our family of house plants is growing and I am running out of places to set them (Besides directly on the floor). I’ve always liked plant stands, but let’s face it, one stand isn’t going to cut it at this point.

I was browsing Amazon the other day and came across an interesting shaped plant stand with grow lights. I’m highly considering purchasing this for either our growing orchid family or a mix of plants that could use a little extra light and a quite peaceful place to hang out.

For approximately $160 USD I don’t think it’s a bad deal.. I’ve read the reviews and most of them. If not all of them are positive. We will see. I have to run this by my wife first and actually figure out where we will put them. But I have to tell you I am liking this idea. We have a dining room and an additional living room, and also an office space area that we do not use in our house. That might be a good place to start thinking about placement. Or simply next to our TV in our family room might be the answer. Decisions decisions.

I Suppose There Is Always An Alternative Solution..

I am calling it my silver solution!.. Another alternative, but expensive, plant stand could be these 2 ounce, Monarch chunky silver bars. Excellent idea! I love these little chunky bars. They are awesome and just look at them holding that succulent in the air. What a beautiful thing!

I have to tell you, I’m really digging this idea, except for the fact that they would be on display in the kitchen window. That wouldn’t be a problem, other than the fact that those pesky Canadian geese constantly fly over our house from off the lake every day in the morning and then in the evening. I know for a fact they will see these bars and want them for themselves. So the more I think about it, this is not a good idea. I think I will be putting them back into the safe.

I rounded up the half dozen bars I had holding up the succulent plant, and I have to tell you they feel great in my hand. The bars are smooth, yet chunky. They have a really nice feel to them as well as a very nice weight. I’ve always enjoyed having these bars in our stack. These little bars were a gift from my parents over the years. Thanks, mom and dad! For now back to the safe they go.

Sorry Succulents ..

I didn’t want to take away your silver, but you have a very nice windowsill to hold you up for now.
I don't think the geese will bother you, but I can't be certain about that.

Well… Maybe not very sunny today, but there’s always tomorrow. Thank you for reading my story everyone! Any advice on succulents or African violence is appreciated.

“Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But the captain had long ago decided that he would, on the whole, prefer to achieve immortality by not dying.”
― Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

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