on my deck – summer 2016 update

by Kaylah Stroup

I’m going to be real with you here, since my last post about all the things growing on my deck, I’ve kind of been ignoring my plants. I barely watered them, didn’t really check on them, and basically tried to forget about them. This started after a few things didn’t go quite as planned. I had picked up two or three plants specifically because they were great candidates to tear apart and make more plants from. They were leggy which meant I could steal the leaves to propagate, leave the stem planted to grow some babies from there, and chop off the top to plant as is. Basically the whole plant failed. Stem died, leaves burnt, and the top rosette absorbed too much water. It broke my poor little spirit. I didn’t feel like putting any effort into them anymore.

Over the weekend I decided to get back outside, get everything cleaned up, and quit being a baby. Failing a few plants doesn’t mean I have a black thumb! I got rid of anything that was dead or dying (basically just some leaves I wanted to propagate) and I’m trying to nurture the things that were still growing despite my brief abandonment. I also rearranged my whole deck. I’m back at square one – obsessed!

I took all the leaves that were still growing and arranged them neatly.
Sometimes, when I have a huge number of them at once, I get bored with
laying them all out. It takes a great deal of time, and after a while
your hands start to feel big, dumb, and clumsy. But I’ve found that when
they are at least somewhat neatly organized I want to take better care
of them so taking the time is actually worth it.

It’s really encouraging to look back at the post from early June, and see how much everything has already started to fill in. It’s hard to notice that stuff in person when you see the plants all the time. I actually wasn’t sure anything had grown at all but I see definite changes which is very exciting. I honestly don’t think I’d be half as interested in my plants if I wasn’t able to compare before and after photos. Seriously – photograph your plants! It changes your mindset!

Below you can see one of my favorite plants, to the left of the tall cactus. That is THE perfect example of how the stem of a plant will product new babies after you remove the top. I can’t believe how much it’s grown since the beginning of the month. If I could just have a collection of things growing just like that I’d be all set! The leaves in the pot with it? Also growing stupendously! I recently shared a photo of them on instagram, check it out here

So, have I convinced you to be a crazy succulent person yet too? Don’t worry, I probably will by the end of summer. 😉
xoxo

See here for tips on propagating succulents.
To see more photos of my plant collection browse the “plants” tag or follow me on instagram. I recently started using the hashtag #kaylahheartsplants.
See my tips for house plants here, and tips for healthy succulents here.

You may also like

4 comments

Sally Reynolds June 27, 2016 - 2:47 pm

I really want some cactus plants now because of this! I'm trying to think where to put them though, because if I put them on the windowsill there is no doubt my cat will be curios and end out hurting herself in some way! Where are they best to be kept inside too? Our garden is a bit too much of a mess to put anything out there…

Laura Jones June 27, 2016 - 2:59 pm

you have such a good collection/family! i'd definitely want to get some too, but i'm too busy with my tomatoes and other veg at the minute, haha! xx

Izzy June 28, 2016 - 12:16 pm

Very cute, loving all those little succulents <3

The Quirky Queer

luzmaría moonandroses June 28, 2016 - 11:10 pm

OMG I love, love, love your plants!!! succulents are pretty awesome

Comments are closed.