Green, green, green

I’ve always been a big fan of nature and tried to surround myself with as much greenery as possible.

In Prague (Czech Republic), I used to live in a small house with a garden in a very friendly neighborhood. We were on top of a hill surrounded by large parks and it didn’t feel like we were part of such a big city. It was my peaceful haven after a difficult day at work. I would take a book and read outside for at least 30 minutes. It helped me to calm down and relax.

In Leuven (Belgium), I used to live in a city centre, but we had a small backyard with benches and trees which was again great for my relaxation. It didn’t belong to our apartment, so we didn’t have to take care of it even though we could use it. It was a perfect arrangement.

In Switzerland, we couldn’t afford to live in a house, and therefore we rented an apartment in a new apartment block. The prices of properties are so high here that it is uncommon to purchase a house, or an apartment and most people live in a rental place. Our apartment is great! It is located on the top floor and when it’s a bright day we can see the Alps! The mountains are more than 100 km away, so it is impressive. We can see the hills around our city and lots of trees but there is not a real connection with nature as we don’t have a garden.

And this is how my collection of plants started. I needed to be surrounded with plants if I didn’t have the direct access to a garden. So, I bought my first plant, and then another and another and another. And today, I don’t know what I’m going to do with them when I’ll go on vacation again. I have some water containers which will help me to keep them fresh but if I go in summer for two weeks it is going to be too long. But this is for another post…

Since I'm talking about the vacation, here are the views from our terrace at work. It actually does feel like vacation (if I forget that I work there).

Back to my plants...

I have somehow managed to place each of them in a spot that they like. They are growing nicely and seem to be happy which makes me happy too. When I come home from work, I check how they are doing before doing anything else. I give them showers every week and water them regularly. I didn’t expect that I would enjoy taking care of plants so much, but it somehow became my hobby. I have so many hobbies at the moment that I barely have time to go to work!😊

Today, I’d like to show you a part of my small collection. If you’re familiar with any of these plants and have some useful tips, I’ll be happy if you’d share those with me.

This is my Calla that I have since 8 years. I have never thought that a plant would survive for so long with me but this one keeps growing strong and makes me happy almost all year round with beautiful big white flowers.

This is one of my newest additions. It's called Aglaonema snow white. I have it for about 2 months and it already started to grow new small leaves!

It's an easy going plant which is not that bothered with regular watering, light or changes in temperature - a perfect plant for me!

I fell in love with this Monstera Adansonii (also known as the Swiss Cheese plant) at the first sight. I didn't care if it was a low or a high maintenance, I just bought it. A few days ago, I have learned that it is a climber and can't wait when it starts hang down over the edges of the container.

Fern is the most difficult plant that I have at home. I wouldn't have bought it if it wouldn't be for my husband. I'm still finding the best way to keep it happy and I hope that it will survive with us.

We also have one big Cactus plant. It's a fairly new addition to our plant family. You can't see it on the photo but it is much bigger than my head! It's thorns are so long and hard! I've already managed to get a few scratches when I wasn't careful enough around it. This is another plant that I probably wouldn't get but my husband bought it. And guess what? I have to take care of it...

There are a few more plants (including my sweet potato tree) that I might show you next time.

Thank you for reading!

Cheers!
Martina