I never considered myself much of a green thumb for most of my life. Growing up, my mom grew flowers in the summer, but we always had faux interior plants, so I never much thought about having houseplants. The first time I got houseplants was shortly after we bought our house. I'd found those two macrame plant hangers at a thrift store and needed something to put in them, so I headed to Home Depot to find a suitably vine-y, hanging plant and bought the two pothos that still live in those hangers.
In the ensuing five years I have killed plenty of house plants. I'm certainly no houseplant genius, and my thumb is only mildly green, but I've learned which plants are pretty fool-proof and easy to care for, so I wanted to share four of my favorites!
Pothos
I love my Pothos. I have several but I want dozens more. They have the perfect cascading vines, are SO easy to keep alive, and they do alright in low-ish light, so I even have one in my bathroom which only has one tiny window. Bonus? They are super easy to propagate, so if you have one, you can make more! It's like getting free plants!
Snake Plant
The Snake plant is SO easy to take care of. You can ignore this bad boy for a looong time and it'll stay happy. I have a couple of these and they are so hardy and add a really cool architectural look that is different from other leafy plants. These do very nicely in low light, so we have one in our bedroom where we have a couple windows, but usually keep the blinds down because sleep.
Philodendron Selluom "Hope"
This is very similar to a Monstera, but it has leaves that have a little more of a "ruffled" edge than the smooth-edged leaves of the Monstera. These can grow pretty big (a local coffee shop in town has a huge one that is amazing!), and it's very easy to care for and keep alive.
Peace Lily
I love how lush the Peace Lily is. I also love how they droop when they need water. Three cheers for communicating your needs, little plant! If they start to droop, you just give 'em water and they're happy again and perk up in a matter of minutes.
Plants I've had trouble with that I personally am avoiding for the time being: Majesty Palms, Ferns, Fiddle Leaf Figs, Succulents (not counting cacti and hens and chicks. All my other succulents have tended to get leggy and eventually die).
A few other plants I've found relatively easy: Croton, Cacti, ZZ Plant, Hens and Chicks (these are also awesome outdoor ground cover!). Make sure you note how much light a plant prefers, and how much water it likes. You can usually find this info on the tag when you buy it, or just look it up online! I like to keep a loose schedule for watering my plants because in the past I've killed plants simply because I didn't water them enough. Right now my Sundays are plant watering days! You can also buy plant food to help your little plant friends grow and be happy too. I use this stuff about once a month.
Houseplants can feel intimidating if you've never had them (or have killed off a few), but starting slow and with some easier, low-maintenance plants is a great way to bring happy plant vibes and fresh air to your space without the stress of taking care of a living thing that's threatening to die constantly.
