Grace the Fern

You all love a good fern, it seems.  Everytime our fern makes it into a picture, you guys go nuts and ask all the questions.  So here’s my fern tips and her story.

I love how house plants make our home feel lived in and alive.  And I’ve bought some plants and some have just found their way into our home, like the fern that everyone loves.  I’m not even sure how long we’ve had her – getting close to 4 years now, I think, she moved in shortly after we did.

She belonged to our neighbour’s mother, whose name was Grace. Her health was failing and she was looking to simplify things around her home so she offered up some of her plants.  Brenda knew I liked plants, I may have even put a call out for ALL the plants….so, one day I came home and there was a collection of plants on my front step, including this fern!

Her first landing spot was on top of the green cabinet in the corner of the living room.  But when we switched that out because we bought another cabinet, the shelf wasn’t as big and she would’ve tipped off.  So, I took in an old plant stand I had in my stash, rearranged the living room and then she moved into the awkward corner where she still is today.  And she apparently really likes it there as the growth from then to now is quite substantial.

The new growth shoots out the top and is such a bright, fresh green!  And they grow longer, they droop and hang down and then eventually, the leaves fall off and litter my floor.  Every now and then, I trim the remaining ‘dead’ leaves and go through the cycle over and over.

I can always tell when someone has been playing in my fern….the leaves on the floor are a good indicator!  Since it is next to the doorway to the kitchen via the dining room, little hands have a hard time not brushing through the leaves on their way by….

I water my plants usually once a week and fertilize them every now and then….no set schedule, mainly when I remember.  And I fertilize all my plants with the same Schultz 10-15-10 Liquid Plant Food, just add some to the water and away I go.  I hate to waste water, too, so I empty water bottles and glasses after meal time into the various plants close to the table…I know which ones dry out quickly and who needs lots of water.  I haven’t repotted this fern yet and nor do I have plans, too….should I, well, I really don’t know! 😉

Here’s another one of the plants that I found on my deck that day.  This ivy { of some variety } died back to barely anything and I was afraid I had killed it.  But, it came back and is loving it on the china cabinet and has grown a lot since I took this picture over a year ago!

Once a year I also take them all up to the tub and give them a rinse to get all the dust from winter off their leaves.  They really seem to like that, in fact, it’s time to do that again!  They look so fresh and lively after a good bath! And that is pretty much all I do for my spring cleaning routine, too 😉

I have no great secrets to share about plant care really, just water and sometimes fertilizer! I love having them around, too, especially when they do well and if they die, oh well, I toss them and start browsing for some new ones!  And by browsing I mean eyeing my friends plants and going to Forge in New Glasgow!  You can read a previous plant post HERE, too, if you want!

If you have any great fern secrets, please share them, we’d all love to know!

To be continued,

Lori