Are house plant people different?

This message was edited Friday, Aug 3rd 2:37 PM

does my opinion count even though i do both?if so,
i use my houseplants to sculpt with,constantly building a certain area into the most pleaseing configuration i can achive.care giving is a satisfying expirence,sculpting on a singular basis.
even though others probably do simular things with there plants,i belive the extent ive taken it is unique.
possibly i only choose to believe this.
but it still makes us different.

Yup, houseplanting folk are a different breed than outdoor gardeners. I've only recently (2 years or so) had to become an in-er, when roomie and I moved to an apartment building. I've noticed that people with houseplants tend to develop stronger "relationships" with their plants. It's not a deeper love, I wouldn't say, but a different type of love, for sure. I mean, I *loved* my tomatoes and my cosmos, but it was more or less an objective love, very practical: I loved them for what they could do for me (like be in a salad, or make my deck look really pretty, or be the raison d'etre of my being in the garden at all.) It's not like the way I LOVE my cacti... I love them simply for being cacti. HUGE difference!

pisces

i think i misunderstood the question.

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thats a good one karma,JO,it fits.

I think one is so connected to another. If your a gardening soul, whether inside or out, you will eventually long to grow both. It's not a conscious decision, it comes from that spot in our brains that makes us plump with pleasure over a new plant, or wither with dispair over a sick one. I started with only houseplants, then could only garden outdoors. When this became an obsession, I found myself throwing out furniture to provide light for houseplants, so that my soul survived the winter. BTW, Hi tiredwabbit. :o)

One thing outdoor gardening has done for me is allow me to be sloppy and less observant. To grow plants successfully indoors, you really gotta pay attention to soil, bugs, humidity etc. I usually lose indoor plants, or fail to care for them properly. Outdoors there is so much more margin for error I can now grow thousands of species (have over 3000 so far) and don't have to watch any of them so closely. Thank goodness for living in Southern California. Before, living in N New Mexico, plants were just not part of our lives, thanks to our ineptness. Here most all are doing very well.

I've probably met countless folks who are incredible outdoor gardeners, but have told me they hate indoor plants. Most of them seem to blame a need for attention to minute detail. This seems really odd, because there's a lot of detail outside to care for. Perhaps it's different detail. Indoor plants are usually seen more closely and personally and need more individual attention. Guess it's easier to tolerate an occasional brown leaf in the perennial bed than in the living room? I love both, but truly the houseplants are more babied here.