Pops of Green

One of my very favorite things about blogland is that I’ll find inspiration in the weirdest ways sometimes. I’ll see a beautiful room and focus in on the smallest little detail that I MUST find a way to make my own. I love that!
I discovered a beautiful blog a few weeks ago called Maillardville Manor and it had me at hello because of the pretty spaces, but there was an underlying detail that I noticed after browsing a while:

Do you see it? All that GREEN. Live plants people – not faux. I mean, I love me some faux, but there’s something to be said about the real thing. ;)
I don’t have what you would call the greenest thumb, but it’s been so long since we’ve had a plant in the house, I wouldn't really know anymore.
Plants have always been a PAIN with our animals – especially cats. They munch on them – flowers, plants, whatever. Crunch crunch munch…the cats love the green.
And so many plants are toxic to cats, and now that we have the dog, we have to think about him too. It seems like every time I find a plant I like, it’s not fit for animals, so I keep on walking.
I haven’t taken the time to figure out what plants would work…till now. :) This time I was ready -- I stood in Lowe’s with my cell phone and some time, searching each and every house plant I came across. And I finally found a couple that worked. (It took awhile.)
The first, a basic fern…who would’ve thought?:

I love it’s feathery, uhhh…ferns? It’s so delicate and full and pretty.
(This one is Nephrolepsis exaltata (huh?) –  and is non-toxic. I hear some ferns are!)
It’s such a lovely pop of color too – I put this one next to the foyer buffet and it’s just perfect:

I could've used our plant stand (that’s never held a plant) but I like having it nestled in that little corner on the floor.
I also found a cutie little fern I put in the kitchen:

The rattan pot is from IKEA. Plant plus pot was less than $10 – not bad for a breath of fresh air. For reals. :)
The Bub picked out a Venus Flytrap, which I think is pretty darn cool:

I always wanted one of these growing up and now I totally have the kiddo excuse. ;)
Just be careful when you repot it – it may bite.
I kid! I kid!
Or do I?
Buwhahahaha…
Our final choice was a Fittonia something-or-other:

I think it’s called a Nerve Plant? I just loved it’s deep green leaves. And the fact that it wouldn’t make our cats puke. :)
Because I never have plants and we had nothing to put these babies in, I picked out some pots – I went with basic white ones that I can use anywhere in the house:

It was fun finding little nooks for the plants – I put this one next to the candlestick table in the family room:

I can’t tell you how giddy I am about these! It’s just silly.
Both only need low light, which I did on purpose so I could move them anywhere around the house without worrying about enough sun:

And get this – the cats haven’t even sniffed at them. Not a second glance – nothin’. You gotta be kidding me. I mean, I don’t want them to snack on them, but I finally have something in the house that wouldn’t hurt them and they don’t. even. care.
So totally cat-like. :)
I found the ASPCA site to be extremely helpful when picking out the house plants. I could search each name on the site and it told me if they were toxic to cats or dogs. You can also just look at a complete list of toxic/non-toxic plants as well.
I’m hooked now – if I can keep these green I’m totally getting more. I know there are many benefits to having plants in the home so they aren’t just pretty. (Check out all the benefits here.)
Any house plant lovahs out there? Know of any more animal-friendly plants I should look into? I hear some clean the air more than others too.
Let’s just see if I can keep these alive and kickin’. Wish me luck. :)

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