Black Thumb Heaven

At some point this summer I started to get into house plants. Despite my history of killing just about every plant I ever touched, I was convinced it would be different this time and ordered myself the most beautiful begonias I could find. Massive massive fail. They drooped and died within days of being in my presence. **Sigh** Needing a pick-me-up after that disaster, I subtly suggested to my New Yorker boyfriend (yes, I said boyfriend...we do have some catching up to do, don't we?) that I might like to receive a little something from Sprout in Brooklyn the next time he came to visit. "Nothing too expensive," I said, "The cheaper the plant, the less guilty I feel when I kill it." Well, my boy delivered, and then some. To date, he's given me four air plants and the fabulous succulent/cacti arrangement in the top photo (the cacti arrangement was kind of pricey, but decidedly hard to kill). I've been caring for them all for a while now, and I'm happy to say that they are thriving. The cacti add a rustic grace to my windowsill and the air plants are so fascinating to watch. Two of them have sprouted pups (baby air plants)! I don't think I can say that my black thumb is cured...oh no. I mean, really, how hard is it to take care of hardy plants that are extremely difficult to kill? But I think I'm ready to try my hand at some (slightly) more demanding house plants. We'll see how that goes...