So you would like to start your plant collection and garden? Are you looking for gardening tips for beginners? During this current challenging time, many of us are bored to death stuck in our homes. The new “normal” is something that we have to embrace while and until we all figure out the way to combat the pandemic.
We all tried to do something to entertain ourselves in the comfort and safety of our own home. Many of us turned to explore the wonderful world of gardening. The comforting feeling of staying in an oasis within your own space.
Plants, in general, is proven to be a great aid for our mental health and well-being. It makes us feel grounded back to nature and provide zen for us to pause and reflect on what’s going on in our life.
Many of the younger generations think that you will reach your Tita (Auntie) or Tito (Uncle) stage in life once you started venturing into gardening and plants. Hence, Within the Filipino community, the Plantita and Plantito have been used to label anyone who loves plants.
I started my Plantita journey when I purchased my first orchid back in 2018. I thought to have just the one orchid to brighten up my home office, and the rest is history.
I mainly have rare and Korean succulents in my collection now and a few rare houseplants. You can visit more of Zany Succulents blog, Facebook and Instagram pages and see the different succulents in my collection.
I have also asked a few Plantitas and plantitos here in the UK to share their story and gardening tips for beginners who want to start their plant life journey.
Meet Renee Karunungan from Norwich
I started collecting plants seriously in 2019. But I have always liked plants, growing up surrounded by my grandma’s plants in our backyard and which she tended to every day.
I didn’t get a chance to collect plants when I was in the Philippines because my work required me to be away for six months in a year. When I knew I was going to settle down in the UK for the longer term for studies and rented a bigger place, is when I started collecting plants and now I can’t stop! I mostly collect foliage plants and my favourite are aroids, including philodendron and alocasia. I also have varieties of pothos, hoya, calathea, caladiums, ficus, and jewel orchids.
Plants personally help me destress and be calmer. I like looking at them every day and seeing them grow in my care. Aside from this, plants make our flat look and feel cosy. They bring a certain warmth that makes a place feel like home.
I always say that there are three main things that plants need that you should be able to give: light, water, and humidity. Assess your place first: do you have enough light for plants? Some people have space in their backyards which is good for most plants in the Philippines but for those who don’t have space outdoors and want to bring them in, check which spaces in your house have sufficient light.
There is also a misconception that they need to be watered everyday. This will only cause for them to drown and rot. Water only when soil is dry.
As for humidity, some plants need higher humidity than others or their leaves will crisp up and die. This isn’t a problem in the Philippines but in Europe/UK, humidity can be quite low. Remedy this by grouping plants together, or putting them in an indoor greenhouse, and/or using a humidifier.
Of course, it’s also important to remember that each plant will have different needs of light, water, and humidity so it’s important to know what kind of care each plant needs before buying them.
If you get light, water, and humidity needs correct, plants will surely thrive!
There are many easy, beginner plants that don’t need much attention: ZZ plants, Snake plants, Pothos, Dracaena, Spider Plant, and Peace Lily are all easy plants! I recommend them for beginners because they don’t require much care and will also thrive on neglect. Once you’ve built up the confidence with them, you can move on to more difficult ones!
Meet Hapsy Vizard – Robinson from Worcestershire
I just started about a few weeks when the lockdown period began. I love houseplants but fallen in love with succulents when I joined some FB groups. I went to Wilko for washing powder and came out with a bunch of plants and a washing powder.
I find plants to be very therapeutic. I have a very bad anxiety and with this lockdown, I can’t go to the studio to practice yoga. Tending and caring for them makes me happy! I drink my coffee every morning and talking to them!
As for my gardening tips for beginners, just be aware of your spending. It’s so addictive you can easily spend a fortune maybe start with something that’s easy to maintain and make sure you have some back up just in case they die on you some of them can be an absolute diva!
Snake plants and ZZ plants are amazing! Very low maintenance. Also tradescantias. They have loads of varieties you can choose or even perfect as collectables. They grow like mad so you always get to have another plant as back up.
Meet Jemina Sebolboro Sentina from Norwich
In 2017, I started collecting African Violets, Schlumbergeras and Rhipsalidosis beginning with noids. I tried propagating them until I became confident and then I started buying hybrids.
My house began to fill up with violet flowers. Around November, the Schlumbergeras would burst in colourful blooms which make winter a little righter in my indoor garden. However, these plants need constant watering regime, especially the Easter Cacti. Once they shrivel up, it is difficult to revive them.
Last year I went away for a month and when I came back, most of my African Violets were severely dehydrated. Sadly, they never recovered.
Meanwhile, I already had a few rosette-forming succulents such as Echeverias. When I learned that they thrive on neglect, I slowly transitioned to these types of succulents and gave away most of my African Violets and Holiday Cacti.
This year, my succulent collection increased substantially, but I don’t think I have enough already. I love propagating them to make more plants and watch the tiny rosettes grow until they become a mature plant.
It feels good watching them grow and I enjoy arranging them similarly to ikebana. It is highly therapeutic. The other benefit is finding new friends who share the same passion.
My gardening tips for beginners that there are three things you need to know about a plant’s requirement: Light, water and soil.
Before deciding which type of plants you would want to collect, consider some factors such as the atmosphere and care you are able to provide.
House plants need high humidity, while cacti and succulents grow in arid conditions.
House plants require bright but shady spots with regular watering; cacti and succulents need plenty of sun and less water. House plants love compost; cacti and succulents prefer a gritty potting mix.
Once you have determined which plants are suitable for your environment, take time to learn how to care for them and where to source them. Facebook groups are your best friends.
Sansevierias are easy to look after. In the shade, they survive several months without water. In a conservatory, they would need more water especially when it’s hot.
Meet Albina Nobbs from Bristol
I have been collecting plants as far as I remember and once I have more time, as my kids are older I become more a prolific collector. Keep me busy, relax, happy & a sense of achievement most especially if I started from seeds & watch it grow.
My gardening tips for beginners is to take it easy & don’t rush, watch how your plants respond in watering, light, temperature & substrate as they can teach you a lot on what care requirements the like.
Start with the cheaper plant varieties that are easily available in the market while still learning. If ever you accidentally murder it then it’s not too tragic. When you are more confident with understanding the various plant needs then you can spend more of your hard-earned cash into rarer varieties.
I have started collecting succulents and cactus ages ago, I do like jade plants or we called money plant, I used to put them in every corner.
Unfortunately, do not know how to care for them, they died one by one not knowing I over-watered them. When one jade plant dies, I just replaced them with different plants. Then, when we went to Turin, Italy there I saw this small plants and I have liked them, and my husband’s cousin told me that they were succulents and cactus, but they were smaller, not that cactus that I imagined big and prickly.
I really want to buy some, but you know, been discouraged to buy because airline regulation might not accept them and it might just be a waste. So, I forgot about them until I saw this page group from the Philippines and saw other people’s collections! Lo and behold, rushed to the local garden centre and bought cactuses and succulents, don’t even care that they have different species and names.
I made my very first arrangement and still do not even know how to care for them properly, succulent dies, just replaced them (still over-watered). Made another two arrangement and then one day, a friend posted Korean succulent for sale, messaged her and told her to want to buy some.
She gave me a good deal and lovely succulents and we got talking and eventually told her if she ever will buy again, let me know when and we’ll share postage and history of collecting more has begun and opened my eyes in the world of succulents and cacti.
She introduced me to her succulent friends and we shared almost everything. We laughed, cried when one plant dies, learned from each other’s mistake of caring them, giving advice on what to do. I was just the novice member and learned a lot from them.
Covid-19 came, unfortunately, I have to stay at home for 12 weeks and shield. Boredom came and got busy in the garden and found collecting and arranging these plants therapeutic and makes me more productive at home. The creativeness in me has come out again. It is a break from monotonous house works. The other benefit is, I and hubby does not argue a lot. We are like a tag team, I make the arrangements and buy plants, he will take care of watering them and looking after them, but one specific thing I asked him not to water are the succulents, told him to leave them alone!
My gardening tips for beginners is succulent plants are very beautiful to collect and sometimes you will get carried away buying them and maybe you end up with low funds. You have to learn how to budget your income if you want to go on buying and put a limit on how much you want to spend. Another thing that I recommend to do is to propagate the leaves and sell them!
For me, jade plant is my go-to if you want to start collecting as this has thought me a lot on how to care this kind of species. If you succeed in looking after them they give you loads of offset babies that you can cut and separate them to have a new plant. One thing I learned from my friends, they said it gives good luck if you give it to another person, (not bad hey!)
Enjoy collecting succulents and cacti!
Meet Omar Papandayan from London
I was always curious about plants and animals when I was growing up. I used to build make-shift ponds and small streams adorned with plants and small fishes in our own backyard where I play with my siblings and cousins. I feel so lucky to be born before the era of the mobile phone where I get to experience playing with dirt, haunt and dig for wild sweet potatoes with friends and even make bonfires out of twigs and tree branches.
I also remember falling in love with the smell of the earth, the dew drops on wild alocasias and even the flies floating a few feet above my head every morning while I walk on the way to school.
When I arrived in London five years ago, one of the first places I visited was the Columbia Flower Market. I really liked the energy and I love seeing people suddenly getting hawk-eyed when they see the perfect plant from afar – silently praying that no one will grab it before they set foot in the stall.
I have gotten a couple of Calatheas from there but they always die after a couple of months or so mainly because of the level of humidity we have at home. I still visited once a month to watch people and eat brunch but I stopped buying plants after getting terrorised by a Calathea Triostar.
I went back to collecting plants after getting hold of a Pilea Peperomioides last year, they are very tricky to take care of. Mine almost died after re-potting it. I was almost convinced that I don’t have a green thumb!
Good thing we have a wealth of information available to us today (thanks, Google!). After researching thoroughly about plant care, I was able to save my Pilea from the brink of death. This gave me the confidence to get more difficult plants then eventually I hopped on to the aroid train!
I now manage a plant/nature shop PlantAgendaStudio on Etsy and has at least 55 diverse plants in my collection.
One of the lessons houseplants can teach us is to pay attention – What is this brown spot on the leaf of my Monstera? What is the humidity level of my home today? Will it rain tomorrow? What is the temperature right now? Why is the soil still wet?
You’ll have to constantly ask yourself these questions everyday for as long as you want to keep your plants healthy and thriving. However, despite your handwork and prayers to the plant gods, things will still take a turn for the worse. Here, it is important to forgive yourself, learn from your mistake and move on.
As we grow older, we tend to overlook some innocuous details or happenings in our lives and in those people who are dear to us which later on could lead into something more serious or even damaging to our relationships – like not paying attention to your partner’s newly-found hobby which may lead them to think that you are not being supportive or your daughter’s behavioural changes after spending time on social media.
I think plants teaches us to pay attention and be more present and hopefully, we are strong enough to try to address the things that are troubling us now rather than later. Think about letting the soil wet for a prolonged period of time will lead to root rot in your plants.
I think I already mentioned the benefits of research and paying attention. Another advice which will benefit new collectors is knowing how to prune and propagate their plants. Plant cuttings may be exchanged with cuttings from other collectors; this way you can grow your collection without breaking the bank.
Another helpful gardening tips for beginners to make note of is pruning will also help the plant maintain its healthy and bushy look. By eliminating the leggy stems and etiolated leaves, you can draw the energy of your plant to focus on new growth and maintaining healthy leaves. So, get your pruning shears, grab yourself a glass of wine or a cup of your favourite tea, turn on some music and let the pruning begin!
Another gardening tips for beginners is to get the right substrate for your plants by investing in perlite, orchid barks, vermiculite, clay pebbles, sphagnum moss, etc. We may not be capable of giving our plants the conditions available in greenhouses but we can at least replicate the soil they are supposed to be planted in. That’s one box ticked on your check-list!
Dracaena trifasciata otherwise known as the Snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue (formerly, Sansevieria). It is a very adaptable plant suitable for all lighting conditions (except of course for those who live in a cave with very very low light, get the plastic version instead).
If you have a bright room, you can water it at least once a month. Otherwise, every 1.5-2 months will do. I even read somewhere that someone even forgot to water his Snake plant for a full year and it was still alive and thriving. It might be made out of plastic, we just don’t have the heart to tell him!
Meet Evelyn Dines from Bangor, Northern Ireland
I grew up in a family who loves plant. However, living in the UK and having very little space to have a garden, I never thought ill end up collecting succulents.
It was very random, I was doing my weekly shopping and saw this beautiful Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg and that’s when the madness started. At the moment, my collection consists of succulents mainly echeveria, graptopetalum and other house plants.
I’m an introvert and spent most of my time working, studying and looking after my family, practically boring life. Acquiring these plants helps relieved my day to day stress. In addition, I’ve met a few people who later on became good friends.
My gardening tips for beginners who wanted to start collecting plant or succulents, don’t hesitate. It’s a fun hobby and you’ll learn new things. To those who just started, make sure you start with the easy-care ones and always be patient.
If you’re going to start collecting, I would recommend sedums and crassula as they are very easy-care succulents. If you’re wanting echeveria, Echeveria imbricata is a good one to start with. Never be afraid to try new things.
I hope that these helpful gardening tips for beginners inspired and helped you to achieve your plantita and plantito goals! If you need any help or looking to join a great plant community, you can join our Facebook Group – Plantitas UK and Europe.
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow – Audrey Hepburn.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Zany Plant World
Succulent and Houseplant blogJoin me in exploring the beautiful and colourful world of succulents and houseplants, one plant at a time! Zany Plant World blog aims to help newbies and fellow plant enthusiasts grow healthy and happy succulents and houseplants at home. Turning your house into an urban jungle oasis that can give you the zen vibes that we all need in this crazy and busy life.