As most of you know, every month we like to enjoy one inexpensive- and sometimes free- bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around here (the idea actually stemmed from a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs a while back). But this month I just had to deviate from the plan when I saw this adorable leafy little guy complete with his own shiny turquoise ceramic pot for- get this- $2.50 from Walmart. Ringing in just as cheap (if not cheaper) than most of our monthly grocery store bouquets, I love that this splash of foliage livens up my desk and even comes with its own vase of sorts (well, planter) that I can use over and over again… even if my leafy friend ends up kicking the figurative bucket.
So far so good though. He’s a low light house plant (which is nice for the right side of my desk that gets only partial sunlight) and I especially love how he looks next to my shiny pink Crate & Barrel vase (who is no stranger to our monthly bouquets so you guys may even recognize her). And yes I did get a bit sexist there by calling the blue potted plant “him” and the pink vase “her”- sorry for that. We of all people know that blue can totally work for the ladies (since it’s one of the main colors in our daughter-to-be’s room) and John has even been known to sport something pink from time to time.
Anyway, that’s our monthly dose of greenery. We definitely recommend keeping an eye out for cheap potted plants these days, especially those that come in charming little ceramic pots as opposed to those cheap-o plastic ones. Heck, even those aren’t too bad if you grab a crisp white $1 ceramic planter from Ikea. So there’s more than one way to get your fill of lovely leafy goodness.
What are you guys gravitating towards in the floral arrangement or potted plant department these days? Any deals out there to be found? Anyone snipping things from their own backyard? We had some lovely cherry blossoms on a tree out front but decided to leave them outside just in case they tried to kill me once they were invited indoors (silly allergies, although this year they’re much much better than usual). Anyone toting home those super affordable daffodil bouquets from Trader Joe’s? Let’s talk about the flowers and plants that you’ve been inviting inside.
I love little green plants! They add so much visual interest to any room. My favorite ones are from the grocery store!
We live in the Northside of the City, so we went allEy hunting one day for some forsythia. That stuff is all over the place! We put all of it in different vases and placed them in pretty much every room of the house. Such a cheerful yellow :-)
I have a beautiful peace lily plant that still flowers (after 9 years!) and from time to time I snip a few of its big lovely green leaves to show off in a plain white vase. It’s simple and looks very nice!
I’m totally going to look for one of those when I go to walmart next!! I have been wanting some more plants and flowers!
I love how different plants have different needs in different parts of the country. You little desk plant that requires indirect light is my full sun hedge here near Miami! A tiny houseplant I had in North Carolina got planted in my front yard here and is now 15 feet tall. I always enjoy your bargain greenery posts, but this one was especially cool.
I have the same pot from walmart!
I just bought a few tiny succulents and lined them up along the kitchen windowsill. I love how they are easy to take care of. Oh, and I like Patti’s idea to snip the leaf of the peace lily to display in a vase. I have an old peace lily too, but never thought of that!
Sooo cute! Totally going to Walkmart to copy your idea!!! LOL!
PS – what happened to Hamurger’s House?!
What do you mean? Burger still blogs his little heart out, he’s just not a two-post-a-day writer like us. Lazy dog!
xo,
s
I have 2 green plants in lime green containers just like that from Wally World last year! They are by the windows in my classroom and are totally thriving several months later!
new laptop?
You’re crazy observant Jamie! We actually got it back when we switched URLs in the summer, but you’re right, the white laptop is usually pictured.
xo,
s
I totally have that same pot from Walmart, but mine cost me $5, so I’m a little bummed that you got yours for half that, but still, it’s a good price! If you want to see: http://shutterlylovely.squarespace.com/blog/2010/4/9/a-turquoise-vase.html
They’re not as thrifty, but our Whole Foods has had some beautiful ranunculus bunches for a few weeks now. They come in lots of fun colors, but I’m partial to the white. They were totally worth a little splurge for me (I can’t remember exactly, but I’m thinking $8-ish). Trimming the ends a couple times and adding fresh water made them last a lot longer than I’d expected.
I’ve been attemping to keep some Lowe’s potted plants in my dining room, and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, but it hasn’t gone so well for me thus far. I think I need some practice!
Good choice! I have a schefflera in a white flowerpot in my bathroom to hide the crooked, ugly intersection of the vanity and the wall/corner. It’s happy there, and I love having a green plant in my bathroom.
I always check out the onsale flowers at Kroger. There are always some nice bunches for under $5 and even some for $1. I’ll mix and match to get the look I want and I just reuse all those glass vases you get when someone sends you flowers.
Oh, Sherry, that little plant is soooooooooo non-green thumb friendly! It’ll grow as large as the container you keep it in and it’s incredibly hard to kill. I even put mine out on my deck in the summer one year and burned it to a brown crisp, but I brought it back inside, pruned it down to about an inch, and it grew back to a shrub within a couple of months. You’ll love it.
I’m excited to get back to Ikea to see if they’ve brought back the ponytail palms this spring. I have one sitting on my desk here at work and it’s so crazy. A real attention getter!
Hey Wendy,
So glad to hear that it’s an easy-care plant. Gotta love those.
xo,
s
I bought a gorgeous orchid to go on our mantle (I needed something tall). I’m thinking about adding some other low maintenance plants, or more orchids, because it looks like it needs a grouping.
Love it! Was in WM yesterday but didn’t check out the plants. Guess I’ll just HAVE to stop by again!
Just had a “Craftsman” pop-up I had to close. Arg!
Thanks for the heads up Beth! We’re on it. To anyone else, if you EVER see a pop up, we do not endorse or allow them (they’re usually coding errors that we never know about until you alert us to them) so please give us a shout if you see them (and note the ad/brand) so we can get rid of them. Thanks so much!
xo,
s
We clipped a few branches from trees and bushes around our yard when they were blooming. They actually lasted a good week in a vase with water! Other than that, I love daffodils, and we planted them everywhere in our flower garden, so I like to bring those inside. I just planted poppies too, so I’m sure I’ll be bringing those in all the time once they start blooming.
I love that blue fish! Any chance they’re mainstream enough to easily track down?
Have you been able to find succulent plants at Walmart? I’ve been looking for some time to find a cute little succulent plant or two for the bathroom like this (http://marsorange.com/archive/succulent-window.jpg) but haven’t had any luck…
Haha, I just bought one for my living room after being inspired by my Ikea catalog, they seem to show plants of flowers in just about every room setting, so I trotted off to the garden centre and bought an ivy, http://thishomesweethome.blogspot.com/2010/04/planting-around.html
Very cute! And the vase is this year’s “IT” color too.
Cute little fish there……..branching out in ceramic colors? LOL :)
cute blue ceramic fish! is he new?
Side Note: That blue fish is so pretty! Where is it from?? (you’ve probably mentioned this before…) Thanks :)
That was a great little find! I bought 2 BIG ferns at Lowes the other day for $10 each. They were a great deal.
I always thought of ferns as old-lady plants but I’ve changed my mind. One of mine is sitting on my hearth in front of the fireplace. It was a great way to fill that space now that wood-burning season is over.
The plant is so cute! I will have to go pick one up for our living room. Is the blue fish new?
Becky, Laura, Erica, Jill, and Lea- The blue fish is actually an oldie but a goodie from Target (picked up for around $4 a few years back). You can see him hanging out in our “Decor Store” in this post from a while back.
Sarah- We have luck finding succulents at Home Depot and Lowe’s on the cheap. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I cut some strems off our cherry tree in our backyard – loved the look in the diningroom.
I alos cut long stems from our rose bushes…I have a bunch of ‘dead heading’ to do over the weekend
Right now I’m enjoying a lovely easter lily that a co-worker gave me. And, my boyfriend surprised me with a lovely bouquet at work today!
I may have to make a Wal-mart run tonight! I bought a lot of plants there last year, and they did fabulously! I have also found bargains at Big Lots – got a rose bush for $3.00 that is unbelievably pretty :)
Adorable! I am a notorious plant killer so am always looking for new ones to try on for size. What a steal!
My Walmart had these on sale for $2.50 too and I got two! One blue and one green! They are too cute!
I love fresh cut flowers and greenery! It always seems to put myself in a very cheerful mood, and it brightens up my desk or home!
Your allergies are better than usual this year?? Mine are killing me! There are many things I’ve been loving about the state of North Carolina, but I don’t think I’ve been able to breathe right since we moved here. :)
Oh, and I was hoping to plant a bit of a clipping garden this year (in with my vegetables), but I got caught up in the whole “companion planting” thing and completely forgot to buy flowers that are good for clipping to bring indoors. Ah well, maybe next year (IF I can manage to get any plants to survive – fingers crossed).
Right now I’m going with just a couple daffodil’s snipped from our own front garden in a little milk glass bud vase! I love the bright yellow against our warm grey walls! :) Happy Weekend!
I have one of those plants, and echo that they are impossible to kill….they also grow like CRAZY. We staked ours up, and it started to grow, and it’s currently 5 feet tall!!
I’ve been clipping our daffodils and flowering branches like crazy to liven up our living spaces. I also discovered some reeds that look almost like bamboo to add to the vases. I’m going to try transplanting some this weekend so they are closer to the house. Possibly even growing some in a pot inside.
I desperately am trying to de-blackify my thumb. This spring is the first time we are trying a vegetable and flower garden. If it ever stops freezing at night, we can get things going.
I am addicted to house plants of all varieties. I find them everywhere: stores, thrift shops, even the trash–I find plants that people abandon on their curbs and in their alleys and nurse them back to health, often dividing them to use as gifts. I am particularly drawn to succulents, since they’re so easy to grow (as long as they have sunlight.) Having so many houseplants holds me over until summer bouquets are available at the farmers market!
Sherry beat me to it. I saw little individual succulents at Home Depot, but I splurged and bought 2 plastic planters with about 8 or 10 succulents in each. Even a black thumb like me hasn’t killed them so far.
Oh, and Sherry we used to call plants like your new one “umbrella” plants.
There’s an annoying Home Depot pop up on this page that isn’t going away!
Thanks so much for the heads up MB and Katie! Everyone else be sure to tell us when you see rogue pop up ads- they’re NEVER endorsed or allowed by us, so we need to know when you see them so we can get rid of them asap!
xo,
s
I’ve been snipping azalea blooms from my yard (fuschia and white) and placing them all over our apartment. Beautiful spring blooms make it easy to create easy homemade floral arrangements!
Loving your Wal-Mart find! I have been looking for some low-light houseplants so I will have to check them out soon.
Just a heads up that I’m getting (for the first time) the pop up “Click to Continue to Site” ad from Home Depot. I know y’all were having trouble with this a few weeks ago, so I just wanted to warn you that it’s baaaack.
(P.S. Love the spring-y blue/pink vase combo!)
Looove the tj’s $1.29 bunches! I snip them short and place them in a kerr jam jar. They sit on my kitchen sink. ;)
Those plants are awesome – even I can keep them alive!
We’ve been sporting the dafodills that are sprouting up EVERYWHERE right now, and our plum tree JUST bloomed today so I’m going to pick a few sprigs this afternoon. Loving spring!
I’ll vouch for the non-green thumbness of this plant.
One of my husband’s coworkers gave him that plant, but it was about 10 times the size of yours. We left it on the front porch during a cold snap, and thought it had died. We brought it in the house watered it every couple of weeks, and 5 months later it started growing leaves again.
Such a cute plant you bought and I love its blue vase! I recently issued a challenge to myself to create one bouquet each week of flowers that I cut from the yard. I love having fresh cut flowers in the house, but I really can’t justify the expense of purchasing flowers. My “yard bouquets” are fun and free!
I saw that same little turquoise planter at a friend’s house and I couldn’t believe she picked it up at Wally World. I thought of yall instantly – how funny to see it in your blog post a few days later!
I love house plants! I’m slowly building up a collection of them. Fabulous for cleaning the air and bringing a little outdoors in.
I think I need to stop by Walmart. That is one super cute plant and pot. :)
Love the great blog, good post, green plant, and blue fish :o)
Pop-up Alert…just had one from Craftsman (first time ever).
Thanks for the alert JMB! It sounds like we’re getting them from Craftsman and Home Depot so we’ve already put a note in to our coding guy- fingers crossed we squash them asap.
xo,
s
I saw these at Wal-Mart! But there were only about 10 left, and they were all dying :( Glad you found a pretty one! I’ll be making more trips through the garden section in the future.
I’m really enjoying yellow spider mums these days. The fullness of the flower allows you to get away with buying just one bunch (about 4 flowers) to completely fill a medium sized vase. Plus, the yellow is just perfect to add a punch of color to any room. They also look cute with just one flower in a small bud vase!!