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This year I…

by Kaylah Stroup December 29, 2016

kept the same hair color for nearly the whole year + didn’t chop it all off when it started to get long!

built a couple forts, played with trash, collected beach glass, and stacked rocks along the shores of Lake Erie.

graced the cover of a magazine! ahhh!

then, the next month, I had a big feature in another magazine! check it out here!

finally saw a real headstone with a skull and crossbones on it!
yeah, my bucket list is a little strange…

got glasses!

(…and then another pair, and another and somehow ended up with a small collection!)

started geocaching + found lots of neat places along the way.

put cicadas on my cicacda because yo dawg, i like cicadas.
aka watched 17-year cicadas emerge with great excitement.

celebrated two years with my favorite human + got an apartment together…
that we still haven’t moved into.

turned twenty-six and honestly had the best birthday party ever.

hunted down waterfalls all over Ohio.

took more road trips than ever before and discovered tons of hidden gems along the way.

grew a ton of plants then gave nearly all of them away except for my absolute favorites.

created a hashtag for my cat and his stupid faces.
these ridiculous photos never fair to cheer me up.

crushed on the ocean…

… and the desert.

discovered that I love coffee.

like REALLY REALLY love coffee.

and found lots of little things to smile about.

And oh so much more!
xoxo

For the past few years I’ve been doing a “This year I…” post. See 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 + 2015.
If you do a “This year I…” post, leave a link in the comments. I’d love to check it out.

It’s been about a month since my last plant update. See here. Without the photos to compare I don’t think I would realize just how much everything has grown! To be honest, I’ve kind of been ignoring them again. They get watered fairly regularly but for the most part I’ve just been letting them do their own thing… and it really seems to be working out for me. Not really much else to say, just wanted to share some photos of all my pretty babies!

In my post from last month I shared a very similar photo to the one above. It’s pretty awesome to see how much all those little guys have grown up in the last month. Sometimes propagation can seem like it takes forever and that nothing is happening but the difference between those two photos certainly proves otherwise.

How is your garden doing?
xoxo

See here for tips on propagating succulents.
To see more photos of my plant collection browse the “plants” tag or follow me on instagram. I recently started using the hashtag #kaylahheartsplants.
See my tips for house plants here, and tips for healthy succulents here.

on my deck – summer 2016 update

by Kaylah Stroup June 27, 2016

I’m going to be real with you here, since my last post about all the things growing on my deck, I’ve kind of been ignoring my plants. I barely watered them, didn’t really check on them, and basically tried to forget about them. This started after a few things didn’t go quite as planned. I had picked up two or three plants specifically because they were great candidates to tear apart and make more plants from. They were leggy which meant I could steal the leaves to propagate, leave the stem planted to grow some babies from there, and chop off the top to plant as is. Basically the whole plant failed. Stem died, leaves burnt, and the top rosette absorbed too much water. It broke my poor little spirit. I didn’t feel like putting any effort into them anymore.

Over the weekend I decided to get back outside, get everything cleaned up, and quit being a baby. Failing a few plants doesn’t mean I have a black thumb! I got rid of anything that was dead or dying (basically just some leaves I wanted to propagate) and I’m trying to nurture the things that were still growing despite my brief abandonment. I also rearranged my whole deck. I’m back at square one – obsessed!

I took all the leaves that were still growing and arranged them neatly.
Sometimes, when I have a huge number of them at once, I get bored with
laying them all out. It takes a great deal of time, and after a while
your hands start to feel big, dumb, and clumsy. But I’ve found that when
they are at least somewhat neatly organized I want to take better care
of them so taking the time is actually worth it.

It’s really encouraging to look back at the post from early June, and see how much everything has already started to fill in. It’s hard to notice that stuff in person when you see the plants all the time. I actually wasn’t sure anything had grown at all but I see definite changes which is very exciting. I honestly don’t think I’d be half as interested in my plants if I wasn’t able to compare before and after photos. Seriously – photograph your plants! It changes your mindset!

Below you can see one of my favorite plants, to the left of the tall cactus. That is THE perfect example of how the stem of a plant will product new babies after you remove the top. I can’t believe how much it’s grown since the beginning of the month. If I could just have a collection of things growing just like that I’d be all set! The leaves in the pot with it? Also growing stupendously! I recently shared a photo of them on instagram, check it out here.

So, have I convinced you to be a crazy succulent person yet too? Don’t worry, I probably will by the end of summer. 😉
xoxo

on my deck – summer 2016

by Kaylah Stroup June 6, 2016

Last year was my first year in this apartment with it’s cozy little second floor porch. When the weather warmed up, I moved my plants that weren’t looking so hot outside since my office was getting crowded. Much to my surprise, they thrived. After that I ended up moving the rest of my plants outside as well. Everything flourished! On top of that I learned to propagate. It’s safe to say, last year was a good year for me as a gardener. I grew a lot of plants, and I learned a lot about those plants.

Ohio winters are cold, duh!, so all my plants had to come in for the year when the temperatures started to drop again. Almost everything survived the season but they were definitely suffering the consequences of less light. A lot of them had grown dull and leggy. I was anxiously awaiting the day I could trim everything back, pluck off leaves for propagation, and get my plants their color back.

Well, summer weather has officially hit here in Cleveland. With temperatures in the 80’s, this is the perfect weather for my plants. I finally kinda sorta organized my little collection and thought it’d be fun to share some photos of them at the beginning of the season. Plants change so drastically over a season but it happens so slowly that if you’re checking them every single day you might not notice. That’s the number one reason I take so many photos of my plants. I mean, other than the fact that they’re gorgeous. It’s encouraging to be able to compare two photos and see how big they’re getting. So here’s what they’re starting off June looking like…

Right after I took everything outside we got a few big rains which I’m pretty sure killed a handful of the leaves I had laid out to propagate. It’s a bummer but not all that big of a deal considering how many others I have growing. I seriously have more leaves than I can shake a stick at. If you’re in the CLE area and would like to trade some babies, by all means holler! We can get coffee and swap succulents!

Other than that, in the short amount of time they’ve been outside everything seems to be really perking up. They LOVE the sunshine and I sure love the variety of colors I’ve got going on out there. I kind of wish I had a better way to display everything other than on my only table and a side table but since I’m hoping *fingers crossed so hard* to move before summer’s end I don’t really want to invest in anything I might not be able to use in another apartment. Things will get even more out of hand once some of my babies get a little larger too. Oh well, it’s not going to stop me from growing even more plants, and purchasing interesting ones I stumble upon.

Last year I shared a similarly title post, on the deck, with photos of what I had growing at the time. You can spot a lot of the same plants from that post in this one, although many of the succulents are unrecognizable due to me stealing their leaves to grow more plants. One in particular I find interesting is the big cactus. I didn’t realize just how much that thing had grown! I’m considering transplanting it to it’s own pot since it’s doing SO well.

Other than all these crazy plants, I’m also growing some herbs which are gosh darn life changing. Fresh basil is the bomb dot com. I’m basically putting it on everything I cook. It’s so delicious and I swear food tastes twice as good when you know that something you grew yourself is in it. What are you guys growing this year?

I’m sure I’ll be back next month, or sooner, with an update on these guys. Hope you’re prepared for a summer of succulent photos!
xoxo

This year I…

by Kaylah Stroup December 31, 2015

played in tide pools for the first time ever.

got a big fat crush on Toronto!

explored lots of interesting places people left behind.

grew lots and lots of plants.

tried more new foods than ever, and even kind of fell in love with cooking.

got to cross off a really silly goal that meant a whole lot.

then celebrated with a spur of the moment road trip tattoo.

started helping Anji out at the flower shop on occasion.

made the beach a cleaner place one neatly organized arrangement at a time.

made pals with lots of new critters including the always adorable Foxy Lady, and Tramp, and some friendly squirrels along the coast.

fell even more deeply in love with both the desert, and my favorite adventure partner.

did some highly questionable things like moving a mattress and lockers on top of Jason’s car.

spent a great deal of pedaling, a lot of the time just to go sit at the beach.

moved into a new apartment.

got back into one of my favorite hobbies.

experienced some truly magical sunsets, my favorite being in Morro Bay.

bought a new car two days before the end of the year!

And oh so much more!

For the past few years I’ve been doing a “This year I…” post. See 2011, 2012, 2013, +2014.
If you do a “This year I…” post, leave a link in the comments. I’d love to check it out.

jungle of succulents

by Kaylah Stroup November 5, 2015

Its been a little over a month since my last post on my plants (see here) which in my mind is more than enough time to not feel super crazy about sharing a bunch of photos of them again. I really enjoy photographing them so I can keep tabs on how they’re growing… plus they’re super pretty, duh! Everything grows so slowly that I may think nothing is happening at all but a photo from a month ago will prove me wrong.

In mid-October it started to get chilly outside so I dragged everything in off my porch. The first few days of alllll the plants being in my office it felt a little bit crowded, especially considering the fact my two largest plants doubled in size over the summer. They’ve been inside for enough time now that the cluttered look of everything squished onto a few tables in front my windows is starting to grow on me. I’m liking my little jungle. Earlier in the year I shared photos of my vanity area and mentioned how I felt like a goddess everyday while putting on my make-up surrounded by plants. I still feel the same way. Someday I want to live somewhere with enough natural light that I can permanently have plants both indoors and out. I enjoy being surrounded by them. Really, I just need my own greenhouse.

Look at that Christmas cactus blooming!!!

It hasn’t been all that long since they’ve been inside and I can already see definite changes. Some of my favorites have lost their color since they aren’t getting as much sun and others are getting a tiny bit leggy. Needle + Leaves actually just posted about growing succulents in artificial light. (read here) Part of me wants to just let the plants do whatever they want with the light they get since getting leggy just means more things for me to eventually propagate. The other half of me wants to experiment with grow lights. We’ll see…

The ones below are my pups, everything I’m working on propagating. The large pot was actually super organized. I had laid everything out meticulously but before I brought it in for the winter a squirrel looking for the perfect place to bury some treasures completely tore it up. It made me so mad I just wanted to trash everything. Since things we already starting to grow I decided to keep them but not worry about rearranging. Laying out tiny leaf after tiny leaf in a neat row or pattern is kind of boring but it does look so much nicer. Maybe some time in the middle of winter I’ll get bored enough to do it.

The only really good thing about having all my plants squished inside, other than the fact I get to see them while I work, is that it makes me realize how many I have and that is keeping me away from all my favorite garden centers. I’m not sure how long that will actually last. I’m sure I’ll end up convincing myself that one more won’t hurt anything. Hah!
xoxo

For tips on propagating succulents, read here.
You can find more plant related posts here.

Propagating Succulents 101

by Kaylah Stroup September 3, 2015

I haven’t been propagating succulents all that long but I’ve already learned quiet a bit and seen a great deal of success. Nearly every time I post photos of my babies on Instagram (…which is quite often) someone asks for help or exclaims frustration in their failed attempts to propagate. Propagation is incredibly simple once you know what you’re doing and it’s wildly satisfying! Today I’m going to share my method and a few tips that have helped me along the way.

Above left : Properly removed leaf

Above is the perfect example of a plant that has gotten leggy due to lack of sunlight, and is in prime condition to propagate. I went to my favorite local garden center specifically to find a plant for this post. This one had already begun dropping it’s leaves and growing pups in the container.

What you’re going to do is remove the leaves. It’s very important to remove them properly. I genetly twist them from side to side, holding near the base. You’ll feel a little snap when it comes off. You need to be careful not to rip the leaf or else it will not grow. There should be no piece of the leaf left on the stem. When I first started that’s what I was most nervous about; removing my first leaf. It’s really simple and after your first one it’ll be easy peasy!

Below : Improperly removed leaf that will not grow

Remove all leaves that are a great distance apart from each other. After that you’ll be left with a pretty little rosette on a long stem. Your rosette may be made up of just three little tiny leaves, or a handful of larger ones it all just depends on the condition of your plant – either way it’s worth saving. Chop those bad boys off using sharp scissors, leaving an inch or so of stem. You’ll be able to plant them later.

Now you need somewhere to put all your leaves. I use a cake pan. It’s what I had on hand and it worked! I would never recommend something that doesn’t have holes in the bottom for your plants but because you’ll never actually be thoroughly watering the leaves or pups it doesn’t really matter. I fill the pan with cactus soil and perlite. (both of which can be found at Lowes, Home Depot or any garden center) I use approximately a 2:1 ratio. The perlite is important because it helps loosen the soil, and prevent compacting which helps with new root growth.

I lay out the leaves, and rosettes with the short stems on the soil/perlite mix and leave them alone for a couple days. The ends need to callous over or else they’ll absorb too much water and rot. After a few days I start spraying them with a squirt bottle. They don’t need much at all, just a quick mist. I do this daily. There are no hard and fast rules about watering your plants though. The best thing you can do is keep a close eye on them. Check on them every day, if they look dry, mist them. If not, leave them alone. Keep in mind that leaves without pups need less water than those showing growth.

They’re going to need lots of light to grow. Depending on your climate and your home just having your pan of leaves near a window should be sufficient. Leaves and the baby plants you’ll be growing are delicate; too much sun may burn them. After getting fairly comfortable with propagation I moved my babies outside where they receive maybe three or four hours of direct sunlight every day and they’re thriving. I wouldn’t recommend direct sunlight when you’re first starting out though. Start by a window that receives lots of natural light during the day.

Now it’s time to wait. Patience is important here! It’ll take a few weeks, some plants take waaaay longer than others, but eventually you’ll start to see growth. Keep misting regularly! The mother leaf will start to shrivel. I never remove it, I just let it shrivel up completely but if you do decide to remove it once you have decent sized new growth be sure not to accidentally rip off the roots.

When my new plants have grown to about the size in the photo above that’s when I start replanting them. They’re still very delicate and will need misted often. When replanting I use 3:1 or 4:1 cactus to perlite mixture. With ample water and sunlight your new babies should continue to thrive!

Everything in focus below is something I propagated myself

Tips for propagation success!
▴ SPRAY BOTTLE. Buy one, use it, be amazed! No, but seriously, you need one. If you try to just water your leaves and cuttings as you would a regular plant you’ll most likely drown them.

▴Don’t forget about the stem from your plant you took the cuttings from, that will produce new growth as well! Since it already has established roots it will produce growth much faster.

Growth on the stem after a few weeks

Growth on the stem after four months

▴ I once read “If it looks like a plant, plant it” and that tip has been invaluable. It seems so obvious now that I have an idea of what I’m doing with plants but as a beginner it completely opened my eyes to everything that I could propagate. Below is an example of something that I would have never thought to do anything with. That cactus is now what I would consider a mother plant, every time she produces new growth like the two bunny ears shown in the photos I remove them to make new plants. I’ve had nothing but success with that cactus and the pups, they root beautifully! This is a very general rule but if you can twist it off, like the leaves of succulents, you can grow it.

If it looks like a plant, plant it.

While researching propagation before I started I noticed that nearly everyone had a slightly different method, varying most when it came what to do after the leaves have calloused over. I decided to just do a mix of everything I read. It works wonderfully for me. If my method doesn’t work for you I definitely suggest doing more research. Don’t give up after one failed attempt! Propagation is WAY too much fun. You’ll be amazed how proud you can be of one tiny plant.

Good luck!
xoxo

To see more photos of my plant collection browse the “plants” tag or follow me on instagram.

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"label/plants"

This year I…

on my deck – late july 2016

on my deck – summer 2016 update

on my deck – summer 2016

This year I…

jungle of succulents

Propagating Succulents 101