Today I’m sharing my houseplant collection. There is hardly a table or windowsill that does not hold a plant. I love combining colors and leaf textures as long as the plants have similar light and water requirements.

My love of plants began with my grandmothers. My maternal Italian grandmother had an incredible vegetable garden and my paternal Croatian grandmother had lovely flowers. Every Sunday when we visited both grandparents, we’d enjoy my Italian grandmother’s homemade pasta with sauce from her tomatoes, and then my Croatian grandmother would walk through her garden with me, steak knife and string in hand to cut a bouquet for me of whatever was in bloom.

My first apartment had plants covering the window sills and included full-size roses in pots on my balcony. When I bought my first house, I discovered the winter sowing method and quickly filled my small backyard with seed started plants. But seed starting is for another article.

My husband knows that in our house plants are a unit of measure. In that, when we talk about how much something will cost my answer is always “do you know how many plants I could get for that amount!”

My mother loved orchids, so I bought her new ones that would bloom for months. As soon as they lost their blooms I’d buy a new one in bloom for her. When she passed away, I took them all home with me and I think of her whenever I see them.

Last summer I finally created a succulent arrangement in a large birdbath. I had seen gorgeous succulent fountains online and always wanted to create one. As the weather turned colder I knew I had to save the plants, so of course, that called for yet another shelving unit. There is one in our dining room and also one in our garage. The succulents have been tucked away all winter and are doing great. Did I mention that I had to get more at the Midwest Cactus and Succulent show?