Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Cheap and Easy Plant Keeper

We absolutely love having greenery throughout the house, even though we have black thumb tendancies.
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And it wasn't until the evening before we left for Palm Springs that it hit us: we forgot to make arrangements to have someone water the plants! If it was just a few little blooms I wouldn't have panicked but when I mentally tallied how many plants I would have to replace if we came home to crunchy brown leaves it was quite staggering. It would have been about $200-$300 worth of plants to replace, definitely money I would rather put towards a kitchen sink or new faucet...
Of course I should have thought about it sooner or even popped out to grab some of those water globes but at 10:30 pm I didn't have many options so I had to get creative.
If you are like us then you probably have a container full of recycle-able bottles and cans waiting to go to the bottle depot. Sean had taken ours all out the day before but completely forgot one tupperware container (everything happens for a reason, right?). Using the same principle as the water globes of inverting a water source into the soil I set about washing and cleaning everything from wine bottles to olive oil containters (like the one below). I even used a 2L pop bottle for the biggest plants.

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It was a bit tricky to quickly flip the containers and shove them in the soil without spilling too much, but after 2 I had the hang of it. It was still a gamble to leave, not knowing whether they would last the whole 15 days or if they would just drowned the plants the first day or two. But upon returning all our plants are healthy and happy and the soil was remarkably still damp, even though the containers were emptied.
So if you need a cheap plant sitter definitely consider recycling a few bottles before your next trip! Of course, we would still recommend giving them a test run before leaving so you know how much or little water your plants will need. But I may just resort to using them all the time so I don't forget to water them (or over-water them which is my usual crime against botany).

29 comments:

Restoration House said...

Love the pop of green against the white! Very pretty.
Kim:)

Sommer said...

Holly I just want to know one thing. How did you convince your husband to let you have a white house? I love all the white. I know some people feel like it's too much but you have the perfect contract with the floors and the greenery, I swoon whenever I'm looking at your blog. My husband however starts to make this face, kind of like he's constipated whenver I start bringing in too much white lol. I have a huge crush on your house!

WaterWorks Car Wash said...

Thanks for the tip, Holly! I've always had a tough time with plants - black thumb here too - but you've inspired me with your lovely pictures to try again!
By the way, I'm a new neighbor! Come by and visit sometime.
Sheri

Lauren said...

Hi Holly!

I just recently started reading your blog and I absolutely love it! I am so happy that you posted on your plants today. I have a recent obsession with succulents and have been looking for cute little pots to stick them in. I am in LOVE with that set of six in the wire carrier. Where did you get that from? I think I remember seeing a previous post about that particular item, but of course, now that I want details, I can't find it. Thanks!!

Lauren

Amanda said...

super creative idea.

i love all your plants and wish i didn't have a black thumb or i'd have tons too.

and, um, i do spy with my little eye... curtains in that picture of the dropleaf table in the MASTER BEDROOM! and i'm reminded that you say the master looks nothing like it used to... so, SHOW US! pah-lease. with a cherry on top. unless you don't like cherries, then make it strawberry. or, a macaroon. i don't care, just show us! :)

maggie said...

.....and they look lovely (the bottles)!!!!!LOL

Unknown said...

I water my indoor plants with ice cubes. They slowly melt and water the plant. Maybe you could freeze the water in the bottle and it would slowly melt thus watering your plants. Love the blog!

Unknown said...

I water my indoor plants with ice cubes. They slowly melt and water the plant. Maybe you could freeze the water in the bottle and it would slowly melt thus watering your plants. Love the blog!

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia said...

Everything is so beatuiful! I love all the white, so soothing!
I have used wine bottles in the past and they work really good too :)
Fabulous tip!
Take care
Kristin

www.MaisonStGermain.com said...

What a great idea! I have plants everywhere and am definately going to use this idea when we go away.Thank you for the tip:)
~Debra xxx
Capers of the vintage vixens

Anonymous said...

I would have never thought to use water bottles. When I go away on a trip I usually just put all my plants in a big bowl with water in them to keep them watered from the bottom. If you have a window in your bathroom you can fill your bathtub up with a little water and sit the plants in that too.
Thanks for the great idea!

caycee said...

I am so smitten with your home, I have a special place in my heart for all white!!!

Michael Wurm Jr said...

oh my!

i think when i die ... and go to heaven (of course) ... it will look just like your house.

seriously. gorgeous.

and that little pops of green and charchols and even a tiny bit of blue are just magic.

i'm sure you know all this ... i'm just sayin'

Anonymous said...

I must ask...is your house really that white? It's lovely. Simple, fresh, clean. Just curious.

The S's beach house said...

Talk about creativity and working with what you have! I love all your greenery.

Question: the beautiful plant that you have under the glass globe.....how does it survive under there?!

Leslie {Goodbye, house. Hello, home!} said...

Smart. Just smart.
Thank you for the tip!
My peace lily thanks you.
Did you know that I thought I had a truly unique dining room hutch until I just saw yours?!
Here's mine:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ALkjIVQfNRI/TQEM7wHyl5I/AAAAAAAAEWI/R0RAOUzHJFU/s1600/2o.jpg

Are they sisters, or what!?
Mine is a pale yellow. After seeing yours, I think I might paint mine white, too...
Thank you for all the inspiration!
HUGS and blessings,
~Leslie

Sixty-Fifth Avenue said...

Great idea! I love to have greenery in the house too.

Bring Pretty Back said...

This is SO crisp and fresh!
LOVELY!
Have a pretty day!
Kristin

Shelbie said...

Hi, if you live near an Ikea, you should check and see if they have any Boston Firns. They are so adorable for $5.99. and they have alot of cute grey terra cotta pots for cheap. I bought all of them at my store! :)

Shelbie

aLena said...

Thanks for the tip .. But I think I finally just need to invest the money and buy some water globes ... because as of right now, I only have one surviving plant ... I definintely have the over watering problem too

Unknown said...

You have such a gorgeous home & decorating taste. I love all the white.
~Mary
www.thecraftygals.blogspot.com

Krystal Wight Armstrong said...

I love seeing these beautiful photos of your house; it's like looking through an art book of eye candy :)
And I definitely think green is the perfect color to pop in your wonderful world of white. Your plants are lovely!

Anonymous said...

This may sound a little crazy to people not living in drought but we used to do this quite regularly for outdoor plants during the hot summers here in Australia. We had water restrictions that meant we couldn't water our gardens more than twice a week and only during specific times. To keep plants alive in the most convenient way, we used this bottle trick.

Katherine @ Grass Stains said...

I think you're brilliant, Holly! My boys are always telling me we need AquaGlobes for our house; they see ads for them on TV all the time. Thing is, we don't have any indoor plants!

I love the way they look in your house, but we have a cat who eats anything green that I try to have inside, and then he vomits everywhere. Takes a little somethin-somethin away from the beauty of the plants when you have to clean up cat vomit all day long. ;)

One other thing: I love how your house is such a beautiful backdrop for colorful items. Your photos almost have the look of hand-tinted photographs, the ones in which only certain key elements are tinted ... just because the minimal pops of color are so vivid against all the white.

Heather @ REOlisticRenovation said...

Love the plant ideas. Such cute display ideas. I love the big pots and the little tiny ones. Going to have to use this as inspiration. I am with Sommer. I have a house crush!

Heather @ REOlisticRenovation
www.REOlisticRenovation.com

Anonymous said...

love seeing these pretty pics! so glad your plants survived!

Allison {Live Love Small} said...

i love white and your house is gorgeous! i'm a new fan of your blog and can't wait to see more projects!

Unknown said...

I really love your living room!, it's so dainty and comfortable and i so love it!! uhm, i love white!! anyway, i love those bottles with green plants on it, too bad you forgot to arrange for waters on them, tsk! thanks for sharing, i love this!

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Kath said...

I have been obsessed with green in my house lately! and am a beginner when it comes to plants. thank you for posting this.

I would love to have you link up with www.thedragonsfairytail.blogspot.com

your new follower,
kathryn

 
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