I have a lot of plants (Part 1)

A brief history of Elinor and her plants

I currently have over 50 plants in my current collection, though previously I’ve had over 100I'll never admit that this is too many plants... Although it was nearly impossible to keep such a large collection pest-free while a full-time student.

I’ve come a long way with learning how to take care of all sorts of different plants. Along the way, I’ve developed a taste for different flavours of plant-parenting styles and preferences for different species. I’d describe my current state as Hoya enthusiast with a tendency to water based solely on ~vibes~.

My window plants in June 2024.

Origin story?

I’d say my green thumb comes from my dad, who got it from his dad. Our house growing up was always full of plants, though I didn’t really appreciate it consciously until later. My most salient plant memories are gardening with my dad every year, from arduous weeding and futile watering of our perpetually brown backyard grass, to buying seeds, flowers, and plant starters from Home Depottomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, swiss chard, butter lettuce, oodles of green beans, and more! and planting them together in the garden. I would also play outside as a kid and make “mud salads” with a mixture of wild spring onions, chopped up leaves, and mud. I can’t really explain that one. I could go on about this and maybe I’ll write a dedicated post on plant memories another time.

In the beginning

…there was a succulent

My collectionObsession? began with my first plant: a zebra succulent named Watson Moses in 2019.

I was so excited that I did an entire photoshoot with Watson the minute I brought him home!

I also got a snake plant right before I left for university.

then, a pineapple

I moved to Montreal for universityMcGill! and needed to feel a semblance of homeyness in my new dorm, so I immediately capitalized on my new independence to purchase several plants, including a golden pothos, a curly spider plant, a small bird of paradise, and a pineapple plant!Purchased from [Leaves Cafe](https://maps.app.goo.gl/EiwxsHBTZrxBJo8T7) This was very exciting and brought me lots of joy and attention for growing a tiny little pineapple from my dorm room.

I eventually harvested and ate the pineapple on my birthday. It was delicious and tiny.

It was also during this time that I began documenting my plants, starting with the bird of paradise. I was fascinated with the growth pattern of the huge leaves.

I took a photo every day for a month to capture the leaf unfurling.

The pandemic

This was a time in which many folks began their houseplant journeys. For me, this was a time in which mine intensified, in part due to the fact that I was home and could propagate all of my dad’s plants! Another factor was the pandemic forced a lot of us to spend more time online, and my Instagram feed became more and more plant-oriented. I learned a ton about different species, care, pests, and validated my desire to expand my collection. The third factor was that caring for live plants gave me a sense of grounding, purpose, and joy while while the world outside felt so bleak and uncertain.

propagation exponentiation

Putting my newly learned skills to the test, I took cuttings of my dad’s arrow plant and pothos plants. I propagated the former in water and the latter in soil on Star Wars Day (May 4th, 2020). I also propagated some heart leaf philodendron and three singular philodendron micans nodes from my friend’s momShoutout Gosha! <3.

Star Wars pothos and the philodendron micans are two of the plants that most symbolize my plant journey and I will certainly have entire posts dedicated them.