HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Up until a few months ago, I had always been the fresh cut flowers type of girl. They were cut, and I knew they'd eventually die. They didn't take much maintaining, and prettied up a space quite nicely. Stephen was the one who planted, and tended to our past gardens. I always did the harvesting though! All that to say that I never really hopped onto the succulent/cactus bandwagon...until a few months ago. My mom gave me a cacti garden for my birthday, but it didn't even start there. On a whim I bought a giant succulent from Lowe's, brought it home and was surprised how happy it made me! Since then, I may or may not have purchased 12 more. (not including the one I made for Angela, because when you love something, you've gotta share it right?) And you know what, I'm not even ashamed! I'm addicted. I am also so surprised at how just a few indoor plants can change the whole feel of a space. I've never considered my taste minimalist, but with the addition of a few plants, our whole house feels much more calm and simplistic. It's amazing. 

I've found that I like the cactus side of "gardening" more than the succulents. Out of the 12 that I purchased, 3 bit the dust a couple of weeks after. The cactus my mom gave me for my birthday in March however, has been watered once and is still thriving! I've found that keeping succulents alive is a little more fickle than a cactus. I've been enjoying learning what works and what doesn't though. If you have any tips, please share! And here are a few favorite blogs that do an amazing job of incorporating succulents into their homes: one, two, three.