Lately, I've been wanting to introduce indoor plants into my life. (Let me preface by saying, I have the complete opposite of a green thumb, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from living my life.) Luckily, I recently discovered a store called Art Knapp which is a gamechanger for that very notion. First off, Art Knapp is not just your average plant store. They sell plants, yes, but also trendy clothes, stylish home decor, and a variety of other random things that might tickle your fancy - they may as well call themselves "Knick Knapps" for goodness' sake. It was the perfect place to get me started on the plant journey that I wasn't even aware I was about to embark on. There are two locations in greater Vancouver: Port Coquitlam and Surrey. I've been to both and although I prefer the Poco one more, the Surrey one seems to have a more extensive plant collection. (Plantworks in Burnaby is similar to Art Knapp except their clothing department is not nearly as stylish.)
Anyway, as I was saying, I've been looking into certain large-sized plants and I narrowed down a few favourites: 1) a philodendron plant known as the "Monstera Deliciosa" 2) the fiddle leaf fig and 3) the bird of paradise. All are very full, leafy plants and the philodendron is one that is known for its air-purifying quality. Today I finally pulled the trigger on purchasing a Monstera, and I am in love. It is the one on the left in my photo above. The one on the right, I have yet to identify what type of of plant that is because my boyfriend's had it ever since I've known him. My best guess is that it's a Cat Palm. Their names are Lily and Fred, in case you were wondering.
I had quite the experience repotting Lily the Monstera because I had no idea what I was doing. But a few rules of (green) thumb that I learned today are: a) the plant should sit 1-2 inches below the top of the pot and b) water the plant after repotting. I wanted to repot it because I wanted to give the roots more room to grow - my goal is to turn this plant into a tree. Jokes aside, I've really enjoyed learning how to care for plants so far and I will report back with Lily and Fred's progress updates!
