The title of this post is misleading. I’ve always been a plant lady–but focused mostly on the outdoor variety. Back in 2011, I bought a house. The yard was a bit of a wasteland, but I kind of liked that, because it meant I could make it my own. I begged, borrowed, and stole plants from just about everyone I knew. Roses and lilacs from my grandmother. Black-eyed Susans from my aunt. Peonies from my other grandmother. Irises from a family friend. Another family friend helped me procure wood for the raised beds for my vegetable garden. By the time I sold the house in 2017, the once barren yard was filled to near overflowing (though my mom did dig up some of Nana’s old roses and take them to her house before I put it on the market).

But since I sold the house and have been moving around, I’ve had to embrace houseplants. I had a few easy to care for plants at my old place–a spider plant given to me as a housewarming gift, a few cacti also given as gifts through the years. But I’ve never been much of a houseplant person. My cats were generally the enemy of any plants I brought inside. They either ate it or knocked it over. And frankly, I didn’t really know what to do with the plants, anyway. What does “bright indirect light” mean, anyway?

But, ultimately, a gardener is a gardener, and when spring comes around we have to get our hands in the dirt. Last year, winter lingered well into spring and before I knew it…I had become a plant parent! (It’s a thing! The WSJ says so!)

I love being surrounded by green things. These days, I’m out in the woods and there are trees and shrubs and mosses and fungi galore. But trying to grow a vegetable garden here would be an exercise in futility. I’d find myself sitting outside with a bullhorn, scaring off critters. So If I want to have a hand in growing some green things, I need to fully embrace the indoor plants.

Like so many other good things in life, plants are kind of addictive. When you’re an outdoor gardener, you often have to spend the spring cleaning up, picking out annuals, and replanting your veggies. But when you’ve got houseplants, unless you’re doing a really bad job, you’re just constantly adding to your collection…and that’s exactly what I did this weekend.

These days, we’re living near Logee’s, a nursery that specializes in rare and tropical plants. They also happen to have a bunch of succulents, which I specialize in (because cats tend to leave them alone, and they thrive on my neglect). During my first trip to Logee’s a few months ago, I displayed a great deal of restraint and bought only one plant–an adorable little burro’s tail.

For Christmas I received a set of three pots, and had another sitting around waiting for a new plant. Then, this past weekend, we made another stop at Logee’s. And this happened…

Even after all that shopping we still have one tiny, empty planters–it was too small for any of the plants we bought today. So, I guess we’ll have to head back.