on the deck

by Kaylah Stroup

One of my favorite things about my apartment is the deck. It’s not massive, by any means. It’s the width of my house and maybe five and a half feet deep but it’s the perfect size for a small table with chairs, and of course, lots of plants. The last time I had a deck I was flower crazy. …Okay, I’m still flower crazy but for some reason I just never got around to getting too many of them this year. I think the whole not having a hose and having to carry pitchers full of water from the opposite side of the house kind of put a damper on my plant dreams. That sounds pretty lazy but I’m just being real here, I couldn’t see myself doing that everyday for a ton of plants. For that reason my deck was pretty empty until my office started getting a little too full of plants. I began moving some bigger things that weren’t really doing so well outside. I thought they’d die since none of them looked so hot but in my mind it was better alternative than just giving up on them completely.

A month or two later and all the plants I put outside to die are doing AMAZING. They’ve all grown leaps and bounds. It’s kind of funny all the plants I put out there because I wasn’t in love with them anymore are now my favorites. They’re so vibrant, and healthy. It’s kind of blowing my mind. I always thought that my office got such great light but clearly it’s not enough to help my plants thrive.

Last week we got a ton of rain which only made everything look even more beautiful. I snuck out between storms to photograph my babies. Here’s a peek at some of the things I’m growing on my deck…

Both of the two photos above show plants that had been broken and are now growing new things. The photo directly above is one that was damaged in the great plant disaster of 2015. I was so disappointed. That was one of my favorite pots I had put together and it was just annihilated. I put it outside, once again basically just to die, and it’s growing three new babies! It hasn’t really been that long either so I think this growth is pretty incredible.

The photo above that one is my absolute favorite of the bunch, actually probably of all my plants. That was the first pot I put outside. I loved the cactus that are in there simply because they were my largest but when I moved they took a beating, so much broke off. I was really disappointed. It looked so ugly but it wasn’t dead so I refused to get rid of it. After being outside the cactus still isn’t the prettiest but it’s become a mother to so many lil babies that I’ve been able to remove and replant. I wasn’t too confident since it was my first time propagating a cactus. Instead of just laying it on top of the soil like I do with leaves I planted it. Few weeks later I had roots! It’s really satisfying to be growing things that I didn’t buy at the store. That are actually mine, I grew them.

They’re all so gorgeous, aren’t they?!
xoxo

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17 comments

Nicole Hokenstad July 16, 2015 - 12:50 pm

Ive had exactly the opposite luck… Mine were sad so i put them outside. The ones that didnt die immediatly died bc of the rain 🙁

Kaylah July 17, 2015 - 5:23 pm

Bummer! I bring my in if we're going to get absolutely slammed with rain but they've just been loooving it!

Kate H July 16, 2015 - 2:18 pm

Oh, I love this! It makes me miss the huge deck at my old apartment, how I wish we had some outside space for plants here! I shall have to settle for your lovely greenery, it's so great to see it all thriving and growing beautifully 🙂

Kaylah July 17, 2015 - 5:24 pm

I feel like I couldn't choose a place without a deck after this!

Anastasia Potapchuk July 16, 2015 - 2:47 pm

Your plants are very beautiful! I have a lot of plants too, you can see them on my blog. You are very good planter 🙂

http://youthfulblog.blogspot.com/

Tara Hammond July 16, 2015 - 3:07 pm

Completely gorgeous! That is super exciting that all of your plants are thriving outside. Hooray for no dead plants 🙂

Lynn N July 16, 2015 - 3:11 pm

One of the things I like about your blog is your ability to convey beauty in the small things. So refreshing.

Kaylah July 17, 2015 - 5:24 pm

Thank you so much, Lynn! 😀

minacoleta July 16, 2015 - 3:45 pm

They way you talk about and treat your plants is so inspiring! My dad always had a lot of plants around my whole life, and now that I've moved out I've only just started my own collection. My apartment currently doesn't get a lot of sun, so I have to stick to low light/morning light plants, but I can't wait to one day be able to have cacti!

Kaylah July 17, 2015 - 5:25 pm

<333

Trude July 16, 2015 - 4:59 pm

Gorgeous shots! I just love these kinds of photos of plants with raindrops (so impossible to get here in SoCal). 🙂 Succulents are amazing the way they can revive themselves.

Kaylah July 17, 2015 - 5:26 pm

Plants in general are amazing at how they revive themselves. I have a few inside that I can forget to water and they'll look completely done for. A bit of water and by the end of the day they look better than ever!

Kristina July 17, 2015 - 2:27 am

So beautiful! I love your decorating so much!

Kaylah July 17, 2015 - 5:26 pm

Thank you so much, Kristina! 😀

julia July 17, 2015 - 1:17 pm

beautiful 🙂

Kaylah July 17, 2015 - 5:26 pm

Thank you, Julia!

gabbi bump July 18, 2015 - 8:35 am

These are beautiful! A lot of people don't understand how pretty just plants on their own can be without flowers but this is a great testament to that! I am obsessed with succulents myself, I have a big planter with a whole variety of them 🙂 I'm not sure of your kitchen setup but just a thought if you wanted to add flowers because I don't have a hose either — you can buy a hose hookup that will allow you to screw it on your kitchen sink faucet, depending what type of faucet you have, and then you can run the hose from your faucet to the outside! Just an idea if you really wanted them 🙂

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