Before I sound like I know it all and have it all let me clarify I learnt my fair bit of gardening not just in the lockdown period last year but 7 years ago when we first moved into a rented apartment in Gurgaon. I had Plant and gardening pins saved onto my PINTEREST account from times immemorial before BC basically. Years ago I started with just 1 plant and today have over 50 plants ( yes I counted them ). The first one was a Huge Croton absolutely beautiful and stunning and it stood below our beautiful Travel Gallery wall. The talking point of all the conversations in and around that Home was this wall back then. After a few months I moved it to the living room window where it started to wilt in a matter of days. It initially lost a few leaves and then some more and that put me in panic, Requested the society gardener to check what went wrong and this fellow suggested it was infested and needed medical attention taking out a pouch from his gardening pants that looked more like cocaine to me. ( The kinds you see in a Bollywood flick ). He put that powdery white thing right into the mud and then mixed it with his bare hands. A few days later the plant died shedding all its leaves in one go with just a stick remaining that both of us stared for a week. Learnt it the hard way that Google could be a better gardener than random people sometimes. And any chemical treatment should be the absolute last bet. Most infestations can easily be treated with a spray of soapy water or Neem oil at the max. In the case of the Moody Croton as a matter of fact they don’t like moving places like our grandparents and the drooping leaves was just a Tantrum basically.
Okay now let’s get to the point and my recommendations for what plants to start with specially if you plan to have some indoors as part of decor or to give you tropical vibes like in my case. Also these are the easiest according to me to begin with. I will do another blog on the prettiest , swankiest statement ones now that I have over 50 babies.
Areca Palm
If you are looking for a Tall plant to add height to a corner and some dimension start with an Areca Palm. Requires mostly only two things – bright indirect light and moist soil. So a South West facing window is a great bet. Also likes to be root bound so avoid repotting when it outgrows its pot every few years. Let it sit in that tiny pot for years. Mine is in the same pot for 5 years now. I just aerate it once a week, add my kitchen waste manure and rice/dal water. Plus Areca isn’t very sensitive to over or under watering hence easy for Travellers like me, I have left it for days and yet it has never thrown its weight around. For best foliage though water it well twice a week in Delhi sort of Climate or basis your climate and soil conditions
Pothoes
Some Pothoes here and there
No Brainer easy peasy georgous georgous creaper. Keep a small one on your work desk to add the magic, put a cutting into a bottle, a can , a jar or anything you fancy and it sits pretty on top of the Refrigerator, Washrooms, Dressers, Table Tops just about anywhere even in low light areas. Hang them onto macarame planters for that Boho look. Or drape them onto a floating shelf with a few books and Art Frames the possibilities are endless and this one grows in any kind of soil , loves moisture so overwatering is not much of problem and can also tolerate underwatering for a fair amount of time ,does well from low lighting to artificial lights but bright indirect light makes it flourish. Isn’t it a Winner all the way.
Indian Laurel (Ficus)
The not so popular cousin of the Fiddle Leaf, it could be controversial including a Ficus in my list as they are a moody family. Specially the very famous cousin Fiddle Leaf known for its Tantrums but let me explain myself here. I got this shiny leafy baby on a whim 4 years ago , saw it at a nursery and those crime master gogo instincts just gave in ( Aayi hoon to kuch to lekar jaungi) This one kinda looked pretty. Without much care its now grown twice of its original size in 4 years. And barring that one time when it had been infested with mealy bugs owing to my negligence, I didn’t do much. Left it on its own watering when the soil felt dry. Sometimes bringing it indoors for a week and this one had no fuss atall. Again likes to be root bound. Lot of people talk about overwatering when you begin gardening but over potting if thats a thing can also kill your plants specially when you choose the wrong sized pot for them. If you must repot the rule is to use just 1 size bigger which means you go from 8 to 10 inch pot and so on.
Xanadu
Ohhh my can’t tell you how much I love this one , easy on pocket , easy on care. Looks great on table tops or on the floor in a pretty little corner. Needs bright indirect light and loves moist soil. As a rule I don’t let any of my plants sit in a tray of water that can lead to root rot including this one. Just water generously so it flows from the bottom and again when the first one inch of soil feels dry. Plants can get thirsty in the Indian summer heat specially in North India so keep a check and keep this one in a bright spot , mine does very well next to the window with new shoots popping up every now and then. This one is from the tropics so it loves its Sunday ritual bath in the balcony with all its Philo cousins.
Spider
The Kind of Spiders I like
I got a pretty looking tiny spider 5 years ago for my Tabletop. It was sold to me as an indoor plant but for some reason it really didn’t do well indoors in the space I assigned him. I had to then just move it into the Balcony to save whatever was left of it and this beauty started to love me back in 10 folds every season I even propagated the baby spiders blooming out of it in Spring season after season. And now have 5 pots from this 1 plant. I would have 20 actually if I didn’t get fed-up of propagating this one.
Okay so I could have included many succulents , Fiddle , Rubber, and even the ZZ Plant( almost included this one but my maid also killed it with overwatering & I took a year to revive it back to where its now, its a very slow grower so it might discourage you when you just begin though) , I now own quite a few Plants and some are absolute favourites. They add so much life and character to my Home and make for those pinteresty pictures but then most are just a year or two old in this Home and this particular list is about plants that have never died on me or recovered like a Phoenix and survived many holidays that I used to take in a year leaving them at the mercy of my maid or sometimes even by themselves. Basically tested times seasons and different hands.
I also have over half a dozen Succulents, Bougainvillea in the Balcony, a giant Jade, a Firangipaani (very very Hardy) that I grew from a roadside cutting and donated before moving to Hyderabad, Syngogiams, The star Fiddleleaf, Birds of Paradise and a couple of Rubber plants. All these are equally georgous but its just been a year or two for some , and some do well only in full sun or outdoors or under certain extra care for example the Bougainvillea is very very hardy but only blooms when fed properly time to time , under full Sun exposure of 5-6 hours etc. The list I have above are perfect to begin your Container Gardening dreams within in a tiny flat or a room that receives medium light or even a North facing Balcony. These plants can be left alone on the mercy of your maids when you are away and will probably not die on you if you forget to water them or overdo it once in a while. Last few years I also tried growing some flowers from seeds, microgreens and leafy vegetables in the Balcony but shall keep them for a different post. What say ? Also a separate list on which of these make the best Photo Props on Instagram 🤭
” My Big Pothoes and Ficus adorning the Bedroom Balcony , a backdrop for many of my Pictures now “
