Is your Thumb Green or Black?
In our quest to get our house ready to put on the market before Don leaves for Oregon next week (
), Don and I have been on a major deep cleaning spree. We’re decluttering, consolidating, and literally cleaning the house from the ceilings down to the floors — and it’s taken us WEEKS to accomplish. 
Thank God we painted the inside of our house with a semi-gloss paint, because it has made such a huge difference in the cleaning process. Oh, and 409 multi-purpose cleaner has become my very favorite cleaner of choice. I think we’ve gone through two gallons of the stuff, and it cleans and lifts dirt/grime/grease like nothing else I’ve ever used. So, a big thumbs up to 409! 
Anyway, during this cleaning process, I removed the many silk plants I had around the house. I don’t even want to talk about the layers of dust on the leaves of these things because it was quite embarrassing. 
So, I took them outside and sprayed them with . . . you guessed it . . . 409 cleaner, and the dirt/dust/grime just melted away. A quick spray with the hose and they looked sparkling clean and good as new. I love silk plants — they’re no fuss, they don’t require water or fertilizer, you don’t have to talk to them, and most importantly, they don’t DIE when they’re neglected. 
This brings me around to today’s blog topic. We have one, and only one, live plant in this house, and it isn’t mine. It belongs to Don and I seriously don’t touch it. Three years ago when Don went in for gall bladder surgery, Carly sent him a beautiful plant. 
And over the past three years Don has cared for, and nurtured, this one plant that sits on the window sill in our kitchen where it can absorb some sun during the day. This plant has thrived and grown - - just with a few waterings a week and an occasional splash of coffee. Don carefully picks off the old dying leaves, and when it started to become this monster plant that threatened to take over our entire window sill, he had to put a stake in the pot and make sure that all the branches had something to twist around and climb up on. Don is very proud of his plant, and rightly so. It really is a pretty plant, which I admire from afar, because my thumb is black as death and I’m certain that one touch from me and it would wither and croak. 
I even told Don that when he goes to Oregon, he has to take the plant with him — I refuse to be responsible for keeping it alive. I can’t imagine living with the guilt if it died while he was gone — especially after he’s taken such good care of it for three years now! 
So, what about you? Do you love real plants or prefer silk ones that require minimum care? Do you enjoy puttering around in a garden and plant flowers and other pretty things, or are you like me and plant something only to watch it die, no matter how hard you try and take care of it? Personally, I hate everything about outside gardening — the dirt, crawling around on your knees, pulling weeds from the planter beds, etc. However, I do admire (and envy) those that have beautiful yards with gorgeous flowers and landscaping.
My thumb is a light green shade. I love plants, real ones, yet I tend to over-water, so some of them are not too happy with me, and some actually manage to survive. I love to garden, flowers and vegetables, and wish I had more time to dedicate to it. I don’t even mind pulling weeds. It’s the joy of watching something grow I guess.
Janelle, way to go on the cleaning. Sounds like you’ve got a lot accomplished. Hope everything goes smoothly.
Comment by Stacy ~ — January 31, 2008 @ 6:55 am
You all have no idea how funny it is that MY gift is thriving. I am the kiss of death for anything green potted in soil!
Comment by Carly — January 31, 2008 @ 7:05 am
I grew up on a farm, so I love to garden. I tend to do it more these days in containers or raised beds because of my back, but, and this excites me, my daughter has suddenly developed an interest in gardening and is planning all sorts of things for this spring. I need to get started on building her raised beds of her own to play in. She is also cooking and sewing. It’s almost scary.
Stacy- they make little decorative things to put in plants that dry out when it is time to water. They work great!
Carly- my best friend can’t keep a fake plant alive. She killed an air plant. Talk about a black thumb- hers is the Black Death!!
Comment by ev — January 31, 2008 @ 8:22 am
janelle by no means do I have a green thumb but I have this one plant that I have had for at least 20 yrs I cant remember exacty how long I know I got it before my oldest daughter was born and she will be 19 next month so it could be even be 22 yrs old!!! And it has been in the same dirt I have done nothing but water it and not even that often do I do that . Its my miracle plant-lol ! Tammy
Comment by TAMMY — January 31, 2008 @ 9:01 am
I love real plants and can’t stand fake ones. I think it’s because my MIL, who is an interior decorator, would show up once a week with a fake plant for the top of something (mantle/entertainment center/fridge) and it just got to the point where I hated them.
Last year I planted a “Medicine Wheel Garden” - it’s round and broken down into N/S/E/W with stone walkways between. Mostly herbs and medicinal flowers. However, it went by the wayside while I did my nursing duties and I can’t wait to get back out there and into it again.
To me, if I’m in a bad mood or something just isn’t working right, all I have to do is go dig in the ground and it’s all better. And sometimes that’s all I do…just dig in the ground!
I really miss my mud-pie making days!!
Comment by Jodie — January 31, 2008 @ 9:13 am
I love the good quality silk arrangements for inside the house. No chance of turning over and dumping dirt on the floor.
I did inherit a very green thumb from my dad. (I’ll give him all the credit).
I can root, plant do what ever and the stuff grows and grows. My mom gave me an orchid she bought for and older friend last year for mother’s day. (The friend didn’t want to care for the flower she is well in her 80’s)
So, it came to my orphange of lost flowers ands plants. I tried to kill the darn thing and it wouldn’t die. It doubled in size. Go figure
Good luck on the move.
I also learned the joys of semigloss and satin finish paint and 409 all purpose cleaner. I have a stash of the stuff in my mud room.
Comment by Gigi — January 31, 2008 @ 9:29 am
I love plants but don’t always remember to water them
amazingly I do have one that my niece bought me 21 years ago that just grows…I’ve replanted it a few times and its doing shockingly well. But I’ve had many others that didn’t fair as well….I also have quite a few silk ones which I love.
Comment by Tina Martinesi — January 31, 2008 @ 9:30 am
I hate gardening. My husband and I have an agreement that he deals with the outside and I handle the inside. We only have one plant in our house and it was something from his dad’s funeral. Luckily, I have kept it alive and healthy for almost two years. Please keep your fingers crossed, I have a black thumb and well the loss of the plant would be tragic.
Comment by Patty L. — January 31, 2008 @ 9:56 am
Gigi- Yeah, orchids have a bad reputation for being hard to grow but they really aren’t. I had about 12 at one time and found they really do well with being ignored. And, in case you didn’t already know, the key to getting them to rebloom is to leave them outside for a few nights when the temps get down in the 50’s. That sparks the new blooms. They don’t do well with freezing temps though!
I lost them all in one fell swoop when the heat went out in my greenhouse and I didn’t realize it for 2 days. 
Comment by Jodie — January 31, 2008 @ 9:59 am
I love plants, but sometimes I forget I own them. My healthiest plants are the ones in my classroom. They live on my windowsill, get lots of light, and I have a TA whose sole Friday task is to baby the plants.
Comment by Kate Diamond — January 31, 2008 @ 10:00 am
I can keep green plants alive, as long as they are good not to need water more than once a week. I have 2 plants in my house. One I’ve had over 10 years and the other I got about 5 years ago. They both are very healthy, but again I only water them once a week(sometimes once every 2 weeks). I do have the job at work right now to keep a basket of plants alive for my boss. I just water them every Monday and pull off all the dead leaves.
I don’t get to have a garden anymore because I live in an apartment. But I grew up helping my dad every summer in our garden and still miss it. However, I really am not good with keeping any flowers alive, either in planters inside or in the ground outside. I touch them and they die.
Comment by Liza — January 31, 2008 @ 10:00 am
I don’t particularly care for indoor plants, the only thing I want indoors are flowers from the florist that smell good. As to outside, I absolutely LOVE to work on my flowers outside. I have 6 rosebushes that I tend to everyday in the spring and summer. You would not believe how much I baby them. I also plant flowers all around our house in the flowerbeds. I usually do impatients because they grow the best with the amount of sun/shade I get. I start with usually 6 inch pots and by the time fall comes arouond, they are absolutely gigantic. A little water goes a long way with impatients, those can dry out and start to wilt, give them some water, and they spring right back to life. I LOVE to work outside in my yard, I can be out there for 10 hours a day during the spring/summer/fall time. Out there I know noone will bother me, they don’t want to help, so they stay away.
Janelle, you are absolutely right about 409, I’ve used it to clean my house forever. Good Luck with the move, I know how stressful that can be.
Take Care all and have a good day!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Kathy — January 31, 2008 @ 11:10 am
I’m okay with house plants. Not good, not bad. I am horrible with outdoor plants. My mother is the exact opposite. She loves to work outside in the dirt. She gets excited when the new plants come out every year. I attempt to grow an outdoor herb garden. Usually, the deer eat my stuff.
Comment by ThatBrunette — January 31, 2008 @ 11:22 am
Good morning Plotmonkeys and Jungle Swingers,
We have two silk plants in the house. In our laundry room my husband put up some shelves for me in front of the window. I have several pots of real plants sitting there. Most are succulants–Jade plants and then a couple of dieffenbachia that are truly the easiest plant to grow. The Jade plants are growing like crazy, they are going to be Jade trees one day. However, I also have a pathetic and I mean pathetic Christmas cactus that has never bloomed since after I got it. Not sure what to do with it.
I LOVE to work in the patch of garden in our front yard–the rest is zeroscaped. It’s therapeutic. I have worked out more story problems dead heading miniature roses and pulling weeds than you can shake a stick at. Cliche alert. Not only that but it just clears my head, lifts my spirits when I’m feeling blue. Especially when I’m planting pansies–my favorite. They always look like they’re smiling.
Have a super day all,
Cher
Comment by Cher — January 31, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
I do not have a green thumb at all. I have not one living plant in my house. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get anything to live. Even at work, things die. I have a couple of silk plants. Thanks for the advice on the 409 because mine need it to. I do not enjoy gardening. I will pull weeds and plant some flowers but then they’re on their own.
Comment by Michelle in NJ — January 31, 2008 @ 12:50 pm
I hate the look and feel of fake plants. But my thumb is as black as yours. I think it’s because I’ve never been inclined to apply myself to this area of knowledge, and because I can’t stand creepy, crawly things. I love the look of a beautiful flower bed or nutured indoor plant but it’s not my thing. So we have no plants.
Funny thing, lately I’ve become the plant sitter at work when someone is going to be out of the office for an extended period. I keeping suggesting that I’m not the best candidate but they leave their babies with me, nonetheless. So far I haven’t killed one, although I often let them get pretty dry before I remember to water them. They become like part of the furniture so I don’t really give them much attention. But I get so many compliments for the “new additions” to my office that maybe I should get a tiny one and try really hard.
Comment by Patricia W — January 31, 2008 @ 1:17 pm
I have a few plants in my house that seem to survive despite my neglect. Once someone gave me a massive hanging basket for outside my house and I almost broke out in a sweat because I knew I’d kill the thing and I did
Comment by wendy roberts — January 31, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
I have a black thumb….thus, I have no plants inside and I hire landscapers to do the work outside. I do do my yearly feeding of the plants outside, but that is the extent. Hubby is obsessed with the lawn. Even in winter, you’ll hear him talking about the grass.
Janelle: Tell Don to get out his snow boots, gloves, etc. It’s been snowing this week up here!
Comment by katie — January 31, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
Black, here, too. Definitely black. We have one long-suffering survivor in our house, and that’s it. The only reason we have anything green outside the house was the wise decision to hire gardeners when we moved in… And I like to enjoy other people’s gardens, but wow, nope, couldn’t do it myself!
Comment by Fedora — January 31, 2008 @ 2:26 pm
I love a house that’s filled with greenery. As long as the silk plants look fairly real, I probably wouldn’t have a problem with it. That said, we have all real plants except the one fake on my husband brought into our marriage. (He’s very proud of it because he thinks it looks so real. I’m not convinced.) Anyway, I hate, hate, hate to seem like I’m self-promoting, but I really did just blog about this issue very recently. Will you kill me if I post the link?
Comment by Caryn — January 31, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
My sweet husband gifted me with lovely roses last evening and it wasn’t
any special day! I thanked him but made a major mistake: I touched
them to put them in a vase! This morning one of the roses is in the
process of losing two petals!! I forgot that I have the brownest of brown
thumbs, that my thumbs are next-door to being black! I guess I should be glad they didn’t die immediately!!!
Pat Cochran
Comment by Patricia Cochran — January 31, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
I attempted to garden once. I found a bunch of tinyworms, gagged and walked away never to try again! I do love fresh flowers though. They brighten up the whole place.
Comment by Krysten H. — January 31, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
Thanks Jody,
for the heads up on putting them outside for some chill hours.
Comment by Gigi — January 31, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
I have a black thumb that aspires to be green. I love to plant the plants but I hate to weed, forget to water, over water and cause them to mold or I just forget about them all together and they die of neglect. I don’t like silk plants because of the dust and they just don’t look real enough to me. Occassionally I buy fresh flowers which I love but then I forget about them too and the water molds or dries up and the flowers make a terrible mess as they die. So… I have alot of pictures of plants and flowers that thrive on my neglect. Thank God I married a man with a green thumb who makes our yard look wonderful!
Comment by Beth — January 31, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
I am an avide gardener. I have a great outdoor flower garden and several indoor plants and cactuses.
Comment by Estella — January 31, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
I have a Christmas Cactus that belonged to my grandmother. There is a picture of it from 1952, when it was huge, in the same pot it is still in. It is still alive and blooming very nicely. I have no idea how old this thing is, but it has to be the longest living house plant I have ever seen. I don’t think you could kill it if you tried. Not that I want to.
Comment by ev — January 31, 2008 @ 6:15 pm
I have a horribly black thumb. Hate gardening…and kill most everything inside, too.
The one living plant I have right now is the one you Plotmonkeys sent me as a housewarming! So far, it’s absolutely thriving!
Comment by Leslie — January 31, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
Patricia–a hubby who brings roses for no reasons. What a keeper!
Comment by Leslie — January 31, 2008 @ 6:28 pm
My thumb is mostly green! I actually love “diggin in the dirt”, planting & watching them grow & flower. However, sometimes I neglect them & the end result is not pretty!
House plants, live ones, are very good for the air quality in your house. Recently I read an article about it. Never thought in those terms before. The last couple of years I have done very little gardening & am missing it.
Good luck with selling your house. Good luck to Don going off the Oregon without his family. I know that has got to be difficult for all of you. I hope the house sells very soon once it is listed.
Comment by Donna M — January 31, 2008 @ 7:35 pm
Just checking in after another long day of cleaning! Today we had the carpets cleaned and our grout in the kitchen and entry way steam cleaned. Wow, the house looks just about brand new, LOLOL!
Katie — Snow!?! We don’t even own a pair of snow boots!
Comment by Janelle — January 31, 2008 @ 8:15 pm
Janelle, Lots of success to Don on his new venture! I can imagine how difficult it’s going to be with divided homes. Hopefully, it’ll be a little easier since Leslie & Bruce had to do the same (maybe she can give you tips to make it somewhat easier).
As far as growing things, if they are alive when they enter my house, they soon go to “plant heaven”. I, definitely, don’t have the touch.
Good luck to Don, & to both of you with your house restoration to get it ready for sale.
Patricia A.
Comment by Patricia — January 31, 2008 @ 8:20 pm
Yes, Janelle, this whole week we have had snow/’wintry mix’ and down where Don will be was the worst hit. Can I recommend Land’s End?
Comment by katie — January 31, 2008 @ 8:23 pm
Carly already recommended Land’s End. It sounds like we’ll be doing winter gear shopping!!!
Comment by Janelle — January 31, 2008 @ 8:26 pm
Hey Janelle and jungle friends…
I am not much of a gardener either, but I do appreciate beautifully landscaped gardens when I see…sometimes I wish that I could have a garden that beautiful…I don’t know if I have a green or black thumb because I have never gardened before…never had the need to living in an apartment and all…
I don’t have any plants in my house and when I priviledged enough to receive any of them, I try…the operative word here is try…to take care of them, but they die from neglect…I guess I do have a black thumb…I take before and after pics as proof of my skills at keeping and taking care of plants…
an aside…Janelle I finally finished the Wilde series two days ago…before I said that Mia’s story was my fav, but Joel’s definitely took first when I got through it…can’t wait to read about Ben and the rest of the ESS crew…
I am awfully (sp?) tired so I am going to sign off now…talk to you all tomorrow…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
Comment by Paula R. — January 31, 2008 @ 8:30 pm
Thanks, Paula!
I hope you enjoy Ben’s story (out in June!) just as much as Mia and Joel’s! 
Comment by Janelle — January 31, 2008 @ 8:37 pm
I like gardening and growing flowers outdoors. House plants are nice, but they die on me because of lack of light, and it’s too much trouble to take them out to the patio and back in again.
Good luck with selling your house. It sounds like you know how to get it ready for the market.
Comment by Ruby D — January 31, 2008 @ 10:56 pm
I have a green thumb. Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies! I can’t wait for spring to get here so I can start clearing out my flower beds and planning what flowers to put where. That is joy growing something from seed and watching it blossom into a beautiful plant! I have a wonderful garden center now thanks to my fantastic, and handy hubby! He built me one on our side porch that houses everything I need including a sink, desk, chair, cabinets, shelving units, hooks, radio, wall clock, lights, etc. I will be out there all the time once the warm weather hits. I can’t wait!
Here’s hoping to an early spring!
Comment by Melis L. — February 1, 2008 @ 1:35 am
Hi Janelle,
I have a green thumb- my entire family does. I once counted over 100 houseplants in my mom’s home a few years ago. Before they moved, my mom had flower gardens in the front of the house, and my dad had a huge vegetable garden in the back. I unfortunately don’t have plants now because I move every 9 months (or less). Oh, the nomadic life of a student. I’m amused you used 409 on the silk plants. I was waiting for you to say the cleaner ate through the silk, or something :P
Comment by JSL — February 1, 2008 @ 2:26 am
Hi Janelle! I have always forgotten about my plants. So sorry, LOL. My hubby refuses to get me plants now within the house. He does all the gardening in the summer outside (don’t think he trusts me with those either, LOL). So any that I have, has always been fake plants. I mostly just have those that decorate vases.
I do get yellow roses for my anniversary tho and this June will be 25 years
Comment by Caffey — February 1, 2008 @ 2:05 pm
Somehow or another I’ve actually managed to go from Black to Green–and move past only growing ivy … but not by much
Comment by Amie Stuart — February 1, 2008 @ 2:49 pm
I have never been able to keep plants alive. This year someone gave me one of those small, live christmas trees. It was about 1 ft. tall. I think you’re supposed to plant it outside when the weather warms up. I, unfortunately, managed to kill even that. Therefore, for me it artificial flowers and plants only.
Comment by Carol Woodruff — February 1, 2008 @ 10:37 pm