Monday, November 12, 2012

Why I Don't Have Houseplants

Frances' fairy garden was a great inspiration!
Gardening trends come and go, and I don't usually pay much attention to them--my garden is never going to be featured in a magazine, that's for sure.  But one popular trend in gardening that has piqued my interest lately is fairy gardening, especially after seeing so many delightful miniature landscapes in various gardens this past year.  I had finally decided on the perfect place to create a home for the pixies in my own garden, so when my friend Beckie asked me to go with her to a workshop on fairy gardening at a local garden center this fall, I eagerly agreed. 

The workshop was mainly focused on creating an indoor fairy garden, but the best part was the 30% off coupon all of the particpants received. I bought a few accessories that struck my fancy, but passed on the bottle of fairy dust--a tiny plastic jar of glitter selling for $3.00 (!).  I was going to put them away until spring, but that coupon was still burning a hole in my pocket, and I thought what the heck--an indoor fairy garden would be something fun for the winter, so I bought an inexpensive shallow pot and several small indoor plants.

My granddaughter came over one day, and together we planted the fairy garden; I let her choose where to place the curved path and bench, and she even managed to squeeze in the curved bridge.  The end result wasn't anything spectacular, especially since it had neither a fairy or a house, but we had fun nonetheless.


After the storm
When the weather began to turn cooler, I brought the little garden inside, finding a temporary home for it near the patio doors.  Not a good idea as it turned out: one morning I noticed that some kind of freak storm had hit the fairy garden and uprooted several plants.  I pushed them gently back into the soil, hoping they would recover, and began to wonder about this strange meteorological occurrence. Another result of climate change, perhaps?

Only a little polka-dot plant remains.
Oddly enough, the same storm hit several more times over the course of the next week until one morning I found the garden upturned, with most of the soil on my carpet, the bridge upended, and most of the plants past rescuing.


I had begun to form a plausible hypothesis, and sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed one day when I noticed a streak of gray out of the corner of my eye.


 Don't let this innocent face fool you.  The evidence was overwhelming: pawprints were taken, and sure enough, traces of potting soil were found. The mess was cleaned up, but I guess the fairies will have to wait until spring for a new home that will be safe from Storm Widget!

And that, my friends, is why I don't have houseplants.





33 comments:

  1. Oh what a naughty kitty you have. On the other hand, he was only doing what came naturally to him.

    I don't have a cat, but I don't take much of an interest in houseplants for a different reason. I just get bored with them and never remember to care for them. I have a few, but in time, I get tired of them and throw them out.

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  2. Naughty kitty indeed! I am always surprised at just how much mischief pets can get into.

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  3. ...but with a face like that, surely you could forgive him anything?!
    (gosh he's gorgeous!)

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  4. Caught in the act! I have a wanna be gardener aka bad kitty, as well. I bought a squirt gun so I could nail him from afar when he threatens to do some digging. :)

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  5. Uh oh. Your cat reminds me of one of my horses, always getting into something.

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  6. I don't have houseplants for the very same reason. But your kitty is so darn cute!

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  7. What a cutie-patootie! Sweet little kitty, but guilty as charged. LOL.

    I love making faerie gardens. Usually do it outside at the base of a tree. They're fun. That workshop must have been fun to attend. I just get my props from the dollar store (no, not the plants) and make things up as I go along. I do like the first pic of a proper faerie home.

    Houseplants are hit and miss, I think. Some are happy in a sunny winter window, but others just give up.

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  8. Obviously Widget wants to be outside with plants!
    Cute fairy garden ideas.

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  9. Your cat has such a guilty look on his face in the last photo.

    It's a cute idea for the mini garden, and a really fun project to complete with your granddaughter.

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  10. My good friend Pat has the same problem. She has 2 indoor cats and cannot have house plants. They tear hers to shreds and do unthinkable things in the pot too. Your fairy garden was really cute though. At least you have something to look forward to next spring.

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  11. I have the same issues--one cat eats the soil, and the other one...well, you can imagine. My terrarium seemed to work for a while, but then it started having problems. I'm kind of afraid to post about it, because I so wanted it to be successful...

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  12. The cat. It figures. If I were you, I'd also double check your checkbook. There's a good chance the cat's been embezzling from you as well. Cats are bad. They cheat and they lie.

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  13. Ah pets, you got to love'm even when they don't believe in fairies! I bet your granddaughter will fondly remember making this little garden years into the future. Love the little bridge, Rose!

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  14. Rose, Those kitties can sure be sneaky and they love dirt! That's precisely why I got out of the habit of having houseplants...and I don't miss having them at all!

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  15. oh what a dear sweet face that is. he was obviously having a lot of fun. leave it to the cat to chase the faeries out of the faerie garden. they can't resist small fluttery things.

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  16. Hilarious! The cat face cracked me up and I needed a laugh today, thank you. You are the best grandmother and a very obliging pet owner too.

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  17. And that is exactly why I have no houseplants either. Two Siamese cats. Your poor pixies... no sooner did they find a new lovely place to move into than it was repeatedly terrorized and uprooted. I hope the fairies relocated somewhere safe and are now happy in the lint trap of the dryer or the bottom of the linen closet.

    And I hope your granddaughter wasn't sad about it all.

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  18. That was hilarious. That's why I have terrariums.~~Dee

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  19. Hi Rose, An enjoyable and fun post. Your naughty pussy cat obviously wasn't impressed with your fairy garden, I do hope nothing was added to it...not the sort of compost you would want I suspect :-)

    I'm sure your granddaughter enjoyed making it with you and I was immediately transported back to my childhood and infant school when with a little help from our parents we each had to make a garden on a tray which would then be part of some sort of exhibition at the town hall. I was very young and don't remember too much about it but I can remember mine involved embedding a small mirror into the soil to make a pond which I thought looked magical...I hope your granddaughter has fond memories of helping to make yours in years to come.

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  20. Enjoyed your post Rose. The cats my son brought home as a child are all gone now, but they never bothered my houseplants for some reason -- except for palms that got dried-out leaves occasionally. They liked to swat at those. Maybe they would have been more mischievous if fairy gardens were in the house! ($$ for a few sprinkles of glitter.... don't blame you for passing that up).

    I did have a dog that buried his chew bones in the ficus dirt. Maybe the cats are getting unfairly maligned here! (:>)

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  21. Oh, that look! I know it well. It's why I put the few house plants we have up, up, and away from Peanut's reach. The perches where they are placed are much to small for her to explore. Well, I hope so anyway.

    You and your granddaughter did a fantastic job with the fairy planting. You shouldn't give up on the idea of a fairy garden. Maybe a succulent planter (with lots of thorny plants) would be safer from the cat's curiosity.

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  22. Aw-w...such an innocent face. I like the fairy garden, so cute, so nice. I have often thought about trying that as well. I might need some pawprint tracing machine, however. :)

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  23. Rose, what a cute cat you have! She loves indoor garden and small bridge to play with!
    Nadezda
    http://northern-garden.blogspot.com/

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  24. I suppose she thought it was a cat tray in the wrong place! Couldn't be cross with a little beauty like that!

    Love that first little fairy house!
    Maggie X

    Nuts in May

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  25. Love the innocent look on her face. hahaha. I have houseplants and did when we had a kitty. She didn't dig up the plants, but she did like to sample the foliage.
    Your fairy garden was a nice project to share with your granddaughter.

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  26. Oh my! I can see why you don't have houseplants, Rose! I had some back in my kitty-mama days, and the bigger floor plants ended up being used as litter boxes before I realized either the kitties or the plants would have to go. I found homes for . . . the plants. No kitties here any more, and the houseplants are back.

    We had a fairy garden presentation at one of our Master Gardener Idea Exchanges a couple of months ago. It was such fun. I might try my hand at one sometime. I've already started collecting odd bits and pieces, and might try making a fairy house from the ideas gathered at that meeting.

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  27. It's so hard to manage houseplants and pets! I hope you're able to find a place outside for the fairy garden when the weather warms up again!

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  28. Well, it looked cute while it lasted. When my husband and I were first married and renting, I had houseplants to satisfy my gardening urge. When we got two cats, a brother and a sister, I was not happy with the female, who would uproot plants from time to time. The male left them alone.

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  29. A lovely post about your indoor plants. Still I think your cat is a lovely one.
    Have a wonderful weekend

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  30. Very cute kitty cat. It's hard to stay mad at them for long, isn't it? I'm lucky; neither of my two cats bothers the houseplants (knock on wood, fingers crossed!)

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  31. Thanks all for visiting; time has gotten away from me--I need to catch up on reading blogs, let alone replying to comments. As for Widget (who is a male, by the way), he is such a funny and intelligent cat, I couldn't get too mad at him. I probably would have killed all the plants myself by January anyway:)

    My granddaughter, who is 9, thought the whole thing was pretty funny. But plans are in the works for an outdoor fairy garden next spring. Widget doesn't go outside, so he won't be a problem, but the other cats who do, think fresh soil is for a litter box--I need to plant fast and mulch even faster!

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  32. No, I don't believe it! Not that innocent kitty!

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  33. And that my dear, is why we DONT have house plants either! LOL the look in Widgets face is priceless. Who, me? LOL

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