The other day for a change I did some indoor gardening. I'm not really good with indoor plants, I forget to water them. But the front porch was looking a bit of a mess. It needed tidying up since I'd moved the geraniums back outside after their winter hibernation. The remaining plants were a few pots of rather tired looking Christmas cacti and an ancient Swiss cheese plant. By ancient I mean nearly 40 years old. I bought it soon after we got married. Although I don't particularly like it, I feel that as it's survived so long under my care it deserves to remain there for as long as it is able to. I wouldn't like anyone to throw me in the dustbin, just because I'm old and past my best.
After a good sweep up of all the dead leaves and petals from the geraniums, a mop of the floor and a wipe of the sill it all looked a bit empty. "More plants needed", I thought, 'Something new to liven it up a bit'. But they would have to be sturdy, able to stand a bit of neglect. Well, lots of neglect, if I was to be honest. They would also not have to mind being in direct sun as it's a very sunny south facing porch.
So off I went to the garden centre to have a look at their indoor plants. There was a large selection of plants to look at, but as most of them said on the label, 'keep out of direct sunlight', they weren't much use to me.
Then I spotted the succulents, not the prickly cacti sort, but the big fleshy leaved ones. There was a large Echiveria with flower buds on it that caught my eye. I grow them outdoors in the summer and bring them in for the winter. I'd never thought of growing them inside all the time. The other plant has big leaves, I don't know what it's called but it's interesting. The great thing is that they like being in the sun.
Back home with my new plants, I potted them up into terracotta pots, topped with a layer of gravel and placed them on the porch windowsill. They look good, but I hope they'll stand the neglect.
