Trying Not To Kill My Final Touches

SO many blogs and home decor stylists say that the best way to add finishing touches to a room, as well as a little color and vibrancy, is to have a lot of PLANTS! My only problem is that I tend to have a bit of a black thumb. Keeping plants alive is a total mystery to me. So you can understand why I might not want to spend a fortune on them, right?

It's not really the plants that are expensive so much as the planters that seem to cost a fortune. I shopped at Home Depot and Walmart expecting some good prices on both plants and cute planters and came up practically empty handed. I wanted to add a lot of plants around the house but the pretty planters were going to break the bank. I decided to try to get creative and went over to Goodwill instead. I found a huge assortment of containers that were suitable as planters and filled up my shopping cart. I then bought an assortment of plants at Walmart and Home Depot that were relatively inexpensive and hopefully low-maintenance.

The key to using non-planters as planters is to provide drainage, or at least that's what I read on the internet. In addition to the plants, I also picked up a bag of river rocks and some potting soil at Home Depot. All in, I spent about $60 on planters, plants and potting supplies.

Next, I brought everything home and re-potted all the plants. I started with a handful or two of the river rocks in the bottom of each "planter" then loosened the roots on the plant and potted it with some fresh potting soil. I followed it up with some water and lots of loving words (they say it's good to talk nicely to your plants) and now I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I'm also planning to do some research into the different plants I bought so I can find out the best way NOT to kill them all.

I also re-potted two pothos plants that I've actually kept alive for several years now. I wouldn't say they've thrived, but they're not dead, so I'm calling them both a success.

Most of the plants ended up in the dining room with the larger ones in the living room. Wish me luck as I try to keep these bad Larry's alive and kicking!

I also found this shelf-thingy at Goodwill. It was a dark, caramel wood color, so I just painted it with some of the leftover pale yellow paint from my dining table project and it gives a little variety to the heigh of the plants on the windowsill. 

I might try to grow some more pothos plants by taking clippings off this one. Again, WISH ME LUCK!