Plants

plants have to be alive to be giving life. There are some people who just can’t keep a plant alive. They’ve tried and it’s just not happening, or they have cats or kids or a dark room or allergies. But they love the thought of having greenery and that feeling of life in their home. As long as you don’t have your grandmothers’ fake plants that change color as soon as they hit any form of sunlight, then you’re good. There are so many options for beautiful faux greenery.

Q. Are any of your rooms live-plant free?

A. I don’t have any real plants in my bedroom, or any of the bedrooms. I get this (wiggles shoulders squeamishly), this feeling that there may be something creeping out of the leaves.

Q. But you do have them in your bathrooms?

A. Yes, bathrooms are humid, and ours have windows. I can’t deny plants all that humidity, and my eyes aren’t closed when I’m in the bathroom so I don’t have to worry about being surprised by a bug.

Q. With 80 plants, you can’t avoid bugs entirely, though, right?

A. No, you need to be okay with a few bugs flying around. They happen. You just have to look out for infestations, swarms of them, often from overwatering, and tackle them right away.

Q. Where did this desire to care for plants take root?

A. I’m a caretaker. It’s what I do. I chose to be that person to stay home and take care of our kids and our home. I’ve always had these little side hustles here and there (selling jewelry, operating an online store for vintage finds). I’ve always wanted to create a space that’s happy to come home to.

Q. Do you move your plants around to accommodate your redesigns?

A. No! Once a plant is happy and thriving, I leave it there. Nature wins. I’ll move a couch. I’ll paint a ceiling, but the plants live where they are the happiest. If I want that look of greenery or life in a certain area, I could use a fake plant or get creative with wallpaper or fabric that has texture.

Q. How much time do you spend with your plants — do you have a schedule?

A. I am always walking around the house, touching my plants. The truth is that I am a lazy water-er, that’s why I check in daily. I’m a bottom water-er as much as possible. I’ll take a big container, fill it with water and put the plants in there to soak up what they need. My time with plants ebbs and flows with the seasons.

Q. You call yourself a plant whisperer and plant designer. What’s the difference between a plant expert, plant designer and plant collector?

A. I’m not an expert because I’m still learning and researching. Some plant collectors just have tons of plants, all gathered together, with no real design. That’s wonderful, but that’s not me. I love fashion. I love interior design.

I’m intentional about how all the elements play off of one another. See how I have these rubber trees flanking this love seat, draping over it on each end to create a little nook? The leaves complement the peacock feather prints on the seat, and that plays off the peacock chair over there. It’s all telling a story.

Q. Tell me about the house you grew up in.

A. I am a product of the’ 70s and ’80s. My mother was big on warm colors. There was a lot of browns, a lot of wood, a lot of wicker and lots of plants. I know that look has become fashionable again, but I don’t really follow the trends to an obsession. If you do, then you risk letting those trends dictate who you are as a person, because I believe that’s what your home is — a reflection of you. I want my home, like my mother’s, to be based on how comfortably lived you want your life to be.

Q. But you love to switch things up! I’ve counted (on Instagram and your blog) at least three different paint jobs on one living room wall, and DIY projects on the regular. What’s that about?

A. I just finished redoing the dining room, so I may need to recover a bit. We’re used to moving every two to three years. When you stay in one spot for longer than that, you get a little antsy. Maybe that triggers me to always want to change up a space because I’m used to seeing a new location or new layout.

Amanda Long is a massage therapist and writer in Falls Church, Va.

Notes

CONTINUES FROM PAGE F3 or for sun including perennials, ground cover, shrubs, herbs and more. For more information, contact Debi at 413-267-5207.

STOCKBRIDGE Upcoming events

Berkshire Botanical Garden presents these upcoming programs:

• “The Language of the Flowers,” May 15 and 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This introductory class teaches fine basic skills in botanical illustration techniques to help participants make realistic drawings of branches, stems, leaves, and flowers using graphite. Led by botanical artist Anastasia Traina. Cost is $225 members, $250 nonmembers. For a list of materials needed, visit berkshirebotanical.org.

• “An Evening of Georgian Food & Wine,” May 19, 6 to 8 p.m. Join in for the next chapter in the food & wine discovery series to travel to the Transcaucasia region of Georgia with acclaimed author and food scholar Darra Goldstein.

The evening seminar will feature a recreation of some of Goldstein’s very own recipes from her book “The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia.” Guests will sample a spread of small servings of traditional Georgian foods, such as chikhirtma, pkhali, and Khachapuri paired alongside traditional wines of Georgia. Cost is $85 members, $100 nonmembers.

20 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Conant Park on Route 10. Proceeds will benefit activities and scholarships for seniors at Hampshire Regional High School.

SPRINGFIELD Flower show

The Springfield Garden Club will host “Welcome to the Park,” a National Garden Club Standard Flower Show, on May 19 from 2 to 5 p.m. and May 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be held at the Carriage House at the Barney Estate in Forest Park. The show will have both a design and a horticulture division. The Design Division of the flower show will take place in the Carriage House with 40 different fresh floral interpretations on display, including large, illuminated arrangements, table design and 8″ petite arrangements. The Horticulture Division is an opportunity for local amateur growers to showcase their work and connect with other gardeners to share knowledge and expertise in gardening skills. The show will also include a youth division for children in grades 1 through 8. Youth exhibits do not compete with adults in the show and are divided into categories by age groups stated in the schedule. The event is free and open to the public.

West Springfield

Plant sale

CONTINUES FROM PAGE F4 enough for me — that has maintained a strong following over the decades..

Mention of varieties highlights one of the other pluses of home-grown sweet corn: You get to grow exactly what you like, whether it is a white, yellow, whiteand-yellow, heirloom or supersweet variety. Other assets of backyard corn are the ease with which it can be grown without the need for toxic sprays, the honey-sweet aroma of corn in tassel and the convenience of just stepping out your back door to pick a few ears for dinner. I’ll always have room for sweet corn in my garden.

Any gardening questions? Email them to me at garden@ leereich.com and I’ll try answering them directly or in this column. Come visit my garden at www.leereich.com/blog.

For more information or to register for these programs, visit berkshirebotanical. org. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at 5 West Stockbridge Road.

SOUTHAMPTON Plant sale

The Southampton Woman’s Club will host its annual plant sale on May

The West Springfield Garden Club will host its annual plant sale on May 19-20. There will be a selection of their own hand-raised plants including herbs, annuals, perennials, vegetables, and hanging baskets. The plant sale will take place at Mittineague Park by Santa’s House, on Route 20. The hours for the sale are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days.

Send items for Garden Notes to pmastriano@repub.com two weeks prior to publication.

Aaron Posnik

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