Hi again!

My obsession with aquaria and houseplants it's raising it's head in our flat. I got a 54l (12g) empty tank for free and my grandpa gave me his old aquarium light for that. After coming to the conclusion that turning it into a betta/shrimp tank would be a bad idea maintenance-wise, my plans settled for an orchid terrarium, with a miniature phalaenopsis and peperomia.

+

Here is a phone-pic of the tank

I started to plan out getting houseplants to the rest of the apartment too. As you can see from the previous post, I already have an aloe vera (which, by the way, is suffering from something. I probably have to repot it.) and then I have a cowslip, which is probably never going to bloom again. Few weeks back I also started a small herb garden, currently with mint and basil.

But really wanted something bigger than those, something that immediately catches your eye and brings green and exotic style to the room. I settled on getting some kind of palm, probably a kentia palm or a parlour palm. I also clipped some leaves from my mom's monstera deliciosa (which is actually quite monsterous) so I can plant them in the near future.

I will post pictures when my plans take a step forward!

Earlier this year on our trip to IKEA I noticed this super cute aloe vera plant, hiding all alone between the other succulents and cacti. The dark green color with small white dots charmed me instantly and I knew I had to save that poor bastard before anyone else took it home with them. When I took a closer look at the plant at home, I noticed it already had three babies! A quick Google-search about repotting these tiny vera-babies turned out to be not-so-quick since info about aloe veras was pretty scarce. I gathered the information I found and here you go, 5 best tips on taking care of your aloe vera!

1. Don't overwater!

Aloe veras, like other succulents, are desert plants, so they handle drought and sun perfectly. This also makes them the perfect plants for kinds like me who remember to water their greens once a month! But desert plants don't take huge amounts of water that eagerly: it often turns them soggy and, if continued for a longer period, kills them. Good rule of thumb for watering aloes is once every two weeks. 

2. Wean your babies

Like I told earlier in the post, my aloe vera already had three babies with it the moment I bought it. These guys are extremely quick to reproduce, but it takes its toll. If the suckers get taller than 3 inches, they start sapping all their nutrients and energy from their mother. This makes its leaves grow horizontally, because it no longer has the energy to focus on it's own growth. To save your aloe from becoming a tired single mom with way too many kids, replant the babies before they reach 3 inches. Simply pull them our from the soil and stick to a new pot with wet soil. Don't water for two weeks, and voila, you have a bunch of new aloe veras growing!

Here you can see a tiny baby which I have not yet replanted.

3. Lay back on the fertilizer

Fertilizer can make your plants gloom, but aloes are not so fond of it. In the summer months, fertilizing them once a month is fine, but stop it completely in the winter months. There's not much fertilizers in the desert after all!

4. Sun, sun sun!

I feel like I'm repeating myself telling you that aloe veras are, you guessed it, desert plants. Therefore sun is vital for them. Indoor aloe veras love growing even in direct sunlight, but outdoors the best place for them might be for example under a tree, where some of the rays are blocked. For indoor plant, recommended windows for placement are the ones facing West or East.

5. All about the base

Aloe veras thrive in airy soil, so use cacti or succulent soil when planting them. Or, do like me, and mix normal potting soil with gravel or coarse sand. This will keep it nice and airy so your plant wont drown in all of the water! 

Hopefully this helped you guys out and good luck with your veras! Do you have any tips that you swear by? Please share them in the comments section!

- Heidi

I moved to a new city in the fall, all by myself. I left my family and boyfriend to my home town, even though he's name was with mine in our rent contract. But he had school, I had school and so his moving here was delayed by half a year. Those six months were rough on me, even though I visited home every weekend, sometimes even more. But, as cliche as it is, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

Now L and I are settled in nicely, I'm getting used to university studying, grocery shopping makes more sense and all and all everything seems much brighter now. The spring sun is beaming through our a-bit-dirty windows, hinting of new chances and beginnings.

So on Monday I decided to explore my new home town a bit more. So far I've only cycled or walked to the necessary places: university, grocery shop, train station. Even to these basic destinations I've tried to find alternative paths, most of the time getting totally lost in the progress. But now I took a walking trip to a different part of town with my camera and my curiosity was awaken. Since kid I've been keen on wandering around in the many woods near our house and now I found that old feeling again!

I discovered a lake, still covered in ice and actually saw a man cycling across it and a little girl skating at the beach line. Crazy folks, if you ask me, since it's been over zero temperatures for so long already. The birch forest really reminded me of home.

And my cute little aloe veras finally found their place! I saw a bigger aloe in the store yesterday and almost bought it, I think I have a new obsession.

Nice spring to everyone!

I remember my childhood´s Spain as a buzzing, warm and friendly country with hot beaches and funny waiters. Our autumn holiday usually took place somewhere in Spain, usually the south coast or the Canary Islands. This was the case in many other Finnish families too: Canary Islands were, and still are, one of the most popular destinations for Finnish families with children. And no wonder, who wouldn't love the long beaches, friendly locals and hot sunshine! The need for heat has created a moving wave from Finland to Spain, especially after retirement. Spain is the Florida of Finnish elderly! This finnovation has caused a city in Spanish South coast called Fuengirola to become half-Finnish. A Finnish school, library, grocery stores and bars all exist in the area, making the city and the whole area of Costa del Sol (the Coast of Sun) one of the biggest Finnish colonies in the world.

How is this all related to me, otherwise than being exactly like the other thousands of Finnish kids running around the sealine in the late 90´s? Well, when I was younger (but older than when Spanish trips were still on the schedule) I got really fond of a Spanish football team, Real Madrid. And when I met my boyfriend, who was of course also a raging Madridista, my passion for Spain burned ever brighter. I started to take some Spanish classes in university and my grandfather jokingly said that my future plan was to move to Spain and take care of all the Finnish elderly folk there, since I'm majoring in gerontology. I realized this didn't sound like a bad plan at all.

My other dream country is Canada and specifically Vancouver, but that one is even further away and even though winter is my favorite season, I'm slowly starting to convert to the everlasting sunshine.

I've been drowning myself in Pinterest pins of Spanish houses and decor lately and I seriously cannot wait to at least travel to Spain soon. Living there seems very distant now, but a girl can dream, right?