Tonight, I'ma let it be fire.

Today, I have a day ALL TO MYSELF! This hasn't happened in two years. Either I'm at work, always in contact with the public, or I'm with my boyfriend/friends. Tomorrow is also my 3rd anniversary with my lovely boyfriend. I am all sorts of happy this morning.

Yesterday, I was in Lowe's (completely meant it to be non-plant related...I needed wire shelving) but we ended up in the plant section anyway:

MBF: Look at these plants! They're dying.
Me: Yes, I know. This is why I think my plant buying gets so out of hand. I want to save some of them from impending death.
MBF: Now that I see how badly these people don't care about them, I don't blame you.
(Then he sees some Bonsai specimens that were badly treated...on the rack for $40.)
MBF: Aren't these supposed to live forever? And they still want to sell them for full price?
Me: I am not surprised one bit.

So, my boyfriend being himself, he took a picture and sent it to Lowe's facebook page. They actually responded!

This beauty - Aloe nobilis - was my only salvage from Lowe's. $5, a few pups already, and I had to have her.

Nice and spiky. :) She had a loose leaf so I just put it out of its misery. I think I'm starting to have a *thing* for Aloes.

I had to stop by Urban Jungle for more soil and I've been looking for a tricolor jade since I first saw it online! I just had to have it.

She was the only one. Lucky me!

 On a soil note, I think I've found a winner. I will never use Miracle Gro soil ever again. I am still battling fungus gnats! I switched to a local organic soil called Organic Mechanics. I still amend the soil with my own vermiculite and perlite, but the plants seem to LOVE the new soil. It's peat-free, which makes me feel better about using potting soil. I try to live as green as possible and this is right in line with that. None of my plants have responded negatively to my mix, and I'm eventually going to repot all of them into that mix.

I also swear by Schultz' plant food! Half strength at every watering and my darlings are just tickled green. Of course, spring being here might have helped that out but I think the fertilizer definitely helps.

Anyway, here are some plant events:

Remember Bernie? Well, before I left for my mother's on Thursday, I noticed some wigglies in the soil. They looked like maggots, but with legs. I removed them and put them in the trash. I had my poor boyfriend put Bernie out in the hallway. When I came back, I double-checked for wigglies and found none...but I did find a dead fly in it! That was it - I repotted. All the nasty, peaty soil came off the roots. I gave it a conservative prune and into new pots they went! I always knew Bernie wasn't a singular plant so I decided that it was time to divide. Bernie Parent's wife in real life is named Carol...so welcome Carol to my plant collection! She looks quite pretty in her polka-dot pot. Bernie looks on lovingly.

Catalina thanks me for the good care but finally showing me her cute little spathes. She has about 6-7 more forming. Plenty of new leaves and new growth. She is a happy Anthurium.

I never gave this Haworthia resendeana much attention - she got a good look-over during my bug checks and would get groomed (getting perlite off her lower leaves) but look! She pupped twice while I wasn't looking. The left one looks great, but I think the right one has never seen any sort of light. I make sure the little guy gets the sun now. This is her second round of pups - her bigger kids are in a pot not far away from her. Mischievous little bastards like to poke me.

And here she is. Gorgeous.

Miss Hoya is a funny lady - she threw out this pink leaf in like a week. She's working on a few more...

In the meantime, no matter what I do with her vine, she likes to hook around my step-ladder. Maybe she wants to dance?

Phil the Ledebouria is pushing out a new leaf. His flower stalk is spent but I think he will look great.

My nematanthus wettsteinii. I haven't seen anything on her since the one mealy, but I'm not taking any chances. I try not to shove her in the dark by keeping her in my bathroom during the day. She seems to understand.

Sammy keeps her company. He looks so much better than when I first got him. He was pale green and limp and now...he thrives.

I think I'm playing favorites here. I know, I've pictured her here so many times. Jazzy just keeps on blooming...she shows no signs of stopping.

My C. laxum is doing quite well. I was afraid of the dreaded brown tips, but so far he's been really good about it. Very minimal. He needs a repot but I'm holding off since chlorophytums don't really like being repotted...or so I read.

My C. tetragona cutting. I knew it rooted since it gave me some resistance when tugged, but this is the real proof.

Now, let's speak about Tovah the Tradescantia zebrina 'quadricolor'. I don't speak about her too much, but I just adore her. Look at her pinks and greens! She happily grows in the Organic Mechanics soil with watering every so often. Really easy plant - I just leave her where she gets the afternoon sun and she grows and grows.

Profile. I just love her!

That's it for now. I made this so long because I won't be able to update for at least a few days. Until then!