Episode 159: My Life in Plants with illustrator Katie Vaz
Peace lilies were one of the plants that carry deep meaning for Katie Vaz. This is an image from her book My Life in Plants.
Transcript
Episode 159
[music]
Jane: Hello, hello, hello! It's On The Ledge podcast and I'm here to draw life into your houseplants. In this episode I chat to illustrator Katie Vaz about her new book 'My Life in Plants' and we get all nostalgic about certain plants from our pasts and I answer a question that has an answer that's somewhat heavy in Snake Plants.
[music]
Jane: What, you may be wondering, is happening with my crowd funding project, Legends of the Leaf? I don't know why I did that, but it's exciting! It's got to have its own jingle! I'm hoping it's going to be coming to bookshop near you before long. Legends of the Leaf, the houseplant book that you need in your life #Adbreak, is being crowdfunded right now and I am at 30% as I speak. I would love for any of you who want this book to happen to go and make a pledge, I'm not going to bang on about it too much but if you visit the show notes or go to unbound.com you'll see it on the front page there and let's get this book funded, then I can get on and write it, which is going to be so exciting. I know lots of you have already pledged, for which thank you so much from the heart of my bottom, or the bottom of my heart, possibly. I will be going live on Instagram and Facebook over the weekend to answer your questions about the book, so do fire them over to me if you have any.
Thank you also to DewBags1 from the UK, who has left a lovely review for On The Ledge on Apple Podcasts. Thanks also to Jeff, who has got in touch to talk to me about Pelargoniums. Jeff was a bit of a Pelargonium naysayer until recently, associating them with "old ladies" as he put it in his email, but earlier this year he was given two of them as part of a plant giveaway due to the pandemic. He was underwhelmed but left them on his sunny patio and ignored them. Jeff writes: "I think I watered them perhaps five times all season and never once did they seem to need it. It said they bloom daily and only out of sheer boredom did I ever bother to deadhead them." Jeff decided to bring those plants inside when the frost arrived and they've come into his home and brightened it up tremendously. Jeff says: "The cheery flowers have continued, despite the fleeting light and gloomy days and I've grown to really respect them. I now understand why everyone's grandmother seems to have grown them by the bushel full. They offer very high reward for almost no effort." Jeff then offers an apology to Pelargoniums and older ladies who have been maligned as boring. He asks: "Are there any other plants you can think of that have a reputation as being a granny plant simply for being low maintenance and cheery?" Oh, Jeff, that's a jolly good question and I'm very glad Pelargoniums have come into your life and made you change your view on this particular plant.
Granny plants? Yes, as somebody who is making my way towards old lady status - I'm middle-aged now but we're all going to get there eventually one hopes - I don't really like the term 'granny plant' but I know exactly what you mean, Jeff! Those plants that are so ubiquitous and effortless that those of us who are too cool for school just think we're not going to bother with. I would say that the Flaming Katy, Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, is right up there as a plant that could be fitted into this category. I'd also like to give a shout out to the Calceolaria. Have you ever heard of that? It was one of the very first plants I bought from Woolworths! It's a pot plant, rather than a long-term houseplant, but it has these wonderful, slipper-shaped flowers and you don't see this growing indoors but it does make a lovely temporary indoor pot plant, so there's another one to add to the list. I'd also definitely include Saintpaulias, or the African Violets, in this category. I think some of the Angel Wing Begonias and the Rhizomatous begonias used to be in this category but now they've been discovered by all the cool kids so are much in demand. It goes back to my old sore, doesn't it? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and don't listen to what anyone else tells you is a cool plant. Just trust your own instincts. I have to admit, Jeff, I am a bit rubbish at overwintering Pelargoniums indoors, they tend to die on me, I don't think my house is particularly suitable for them. I always give it a go. I did manage to get one red Pelargonium through the winter in my unheated greenhouse this year just gone and will give it another go. Any Pelargonium overwintering tips for the house, please shoot them at me right now.
Thanks for all your feedback on the potting mix ingredients episodes. I'm going to collate all the information about the different ingredients into a blog post which I can then keep up-to-date. It's good job really because I've already had feedback from one listener, saying that I missed out an ingredient which begins with Z, which would have been really useful because it was supposed to be an A - Z. The ingredient? It's called Zeolite. Thanks to Basma for telling me about it. Basma as you may remember from her appearance from Meet the Listener, lives in Qatar, and apparently Zeolite is quite commonly available there, as a soil amendment to provide aeration and nutrients. Here in the UK it doesn't seem to be widely available. It is sold as a pond filter material, but it is interesting to know that it's another possibility to look into if it's available in your area. Basma also mentions that LECHUZA, the company that makes self-watering pots, sell a substrate called PON and in the ingredients of that product are listed Zeolite, pumice and lava. So that's another one to look out for and. Of course, you could make your own mix, as Basma has done, using those three ingredients, if you have access to them separately. Basma says: "I mixed equal parts of Zeolite, pumice and perlite and used the mix in place of soil, with a reservoir of water. It's been working great so far, especially for plants that were not doing well in soil or Leca." So, keep feeding back more information about potting mix ingredients and I'll let you know when that all-encompassing blog post is live because, like my pages on buying houseplants in the UK and the US, it's something I'm going to try and keep up-to-date.
Thank you to Rose for becoming a Crazy Plant Person by supporting me on Patreon. All the details for signing up to Patreon are in my show notes. One more tiny thing for Patreon subscribers, please do check that your address is up-to-date because I'm starting to work on my December festive mail-out, so I need your address to be on there and to be correct. I'll be sending out a message soon on how to do that.
[music]
Jane: Have you ever spotted a houseplant - perhaps in someone else's home or in a houseplant shop - and just seeing that plant has brought tears to your eyes, given you goosebumps or brought a huge smile to your face? In this week's interview, I'm talking to illustrator Katie Vaz about her new book 'My Life in Plants'. This memoir has been written and illustrated by Katie and charts her journey of self-discovery through the plants that she's grown. We talk about how plants can add meaning to our lives and we do talk a little bit about bereavement and the deaths of pets - just a warning if that's something that's a little bit raw for you right now. We also talk about how drawing plants helps you observe them better, and Katie's gardening journal, which I hope you'll find inspirational. Over to Katie to introduce herself.
Katie: Hi, my name is Katie Vaz and I'm an illustrator and author based in upstate New York and I recently put out a book called 'My Life in Plants', which is an illustrated memoir.
Jane: Really great to have you on the show, Katie, I apologise in advance if my voice is a bit creaky, it's cold season here even though the sun is beaming through the window and making my glass cloche look all cloudy. Colds are here, so apologise if I sound creaky but it's great to have you on the show.
Katie: Thanks for having me.
Jane: I'm really looking forward to talking to you about this book because it's something a little bit different from the normal houseplant book we talk about. Can you just talk us through the basic premise of the book?
Katie: Sure! 'My Life in Plants' is an illustrated memoir that tells a story through my life, through 39 plants and flowers that have been an audience to various parts of my life all the way back to childhood up to present day. Each chapter in the book features a particular plant or flower and I talk about the memories that are attached to it or if there are any lessons that I think that I learned during that time period. Some of the stories in the book are warm and light and nostalgic, while others are a bit heavy and poignant, I would say. It's a memoir, it's of course very personal to me and about my life, but I do talk about some universal experiences that I think a lot of people can relate to. Like growing up and forging your own path in life and figuring out who you are and being okay with where you are and the mistakes you've made and all those things that have helped you grow and have helped form you into who you are today.
Jane: It's really wonderful to find out that you are as nostalgic about certain plants as I am and there are specific stories tied to these plants as you unravel them in the book so well. Why do you think it is that plants bring out those nostalgic emotions in you?
Katie: Plants and flowers and everything related to gardens has been around in my life as far back as I can remember and even before I even noticed it or really cared about plants that much. A lot of my childhood memories are attached to plants and gardening and flowers. Some of my strongest memories from growing up, my grandpa had a huge garden when I was little and all of my younger memories are around sitting outside surrounded by all the pine trees, the different plants he would plant, and eating vegetables and the fruits from the garden. Now that I'm older, I think plants and flowers and gardening have been my way to connect to my family. I'm fortunate enough to live near family and I can see them fairly often - not this year, really, but any other normal year. It's a way to feel close to the people that aren't around anymore, or something to connect me to my roots and where I come from. I think there's a lot that's deeply rooted into who I've been since the beginning of my life.
Jane: It's amazing, isn't it, the power that plants have to bring out an emotion? This year I've been growing African Marigolds and not even because I really like them, but just because the smell when you deadhead them is so nostalgic for me of being a child, and my dad had - this was the '80s - quite traditional '80s bedding plant taste, including African Marigold, and I remember just snapping off and getting the flowers and getting this really strong scent. It really does take me back to being a child in our garden.
Katie: I plant Marigolds too, for that same reason that they were around when I was younger. It's a unique scent.
Jane: It is and my parents live overseas in Canada and I haven't seen my dad for four years. For me, it's a really powerful thing to be able to unleash that. Sometimes that can be a little bit difficult as well, and bring up different emotions. Were there any chapters of the book that you found difficult to write and brought back uncomfortable memories?
Katie: Yes, writing this book was definitely an emotional journey of reliving some darker moments and getting to relive some of my favourite moments. I do talk about death and grief in the book and what those experiences were like for me, and so writing those chapters, I think, was surprisingly difficult. I knew it wouldn't be enjoyable but it brought out a lot of feelings and emotions in me and I discovered that I had a lot to work through that I didn't realise before, and in the end it was really therapeutic to go through that. The plants in particular are Peace Lilies. Those are ones that I remember from funerals, and in another chapter I talk about a Boston Fern that unfortunately died when I was grieving after my cat passed away from a sickness. So, just having to revisit some of my most painful memories was really difficult. I felt that it was important to include these in the book because they were such pivotal moments in my life and so these aren't my favourite plants for good reason, I think, but I thought it was important to include those as something that was very defining in my life.
Jane: It's amazing how painful it is when pets die, isn't it?
Katie: Yes.
Jane: I don't even know the person or the pet, if anyone starts talking about their pet being ill or dying, I'm just in tears! It's heartbreaking.
Katie: Yes, it can be very sharp. It's surprisingly painful. All loss is different for everybody but when my cat passed away, it was a different kind of pain but just as painful as when a relative or a loved one died. It's that deep devastation from my experience.
Jane: In your association with a particular plant, the Boston Fern, it's interesting that you tied those two things together. A loss of plants is not quite so devastating, although it can be really upsetting even when not connected to the death of pet. I always try to say to people on the show, don't worry if you kill some plants, but it is hard when something that you were really trying to nurture doesn't make it.
Katie: I agree. The longer you have it, too, I think you become a bit more attached to it. I have a Spider Plant that I actually bought around the same time that I bought that Boston Fern and I still have it. I think it's the longest plant I've ever had and I'm currently struggling with a fungus gnat infestation for the first time ever and it's really bad with that plant. I feel like if it was any other plant, I almost, for my sanity, would be just like: "Let's sacrifice this one if it means making my life easier!" but because I've had it for so long, I feel very attached to it and I think it would be a devastating to lose something I've held on to and kept alive, somehow, for this long.
Jane: Yes, I've got a lovely, I can't remember the common name, the Pellionia plant, which has got scale, and I'd promised someone a cutting of it because it's such a beautiful plant and I just can't get rid of this scale. Half of me wants to just stick it on the compost but I'm like, "No, I love this plant! I've had it for so long, it's so nice!". It's a painful one. You've obviously got all these plants that have great significance for you in the book, some you like, some you don't like. Are there any plants that you really can't stand? There's got to be a few stand-out hated plants!?
Katie: I think I would probably go back to the Peace Lily because it has such a horrible connotation for me, personally. Anything I've seen at a funeral is just not something I want around. There were other lilies and, I'm not sure of exactly what they're called, the ones that are incredibly fragrant that you often see at funerals. Sometimes they're out at Easter, maybe? Anything that has such a strong negative emotion for me. Having houseplants around is something that makes me feel so happy and warm. It's like having these little creatures around to almost keep me company, so having anything around that reminds me of something that's incredibly sad is just... I don't know if I hate them but I would never choose to have them in my house, probably.
Jane: That's all there is to consider, isn't it, when you're choosing houseplants? It's not what anyone else thinks about them, but how you relate to them and how you feel about them is the important bit. I always try to say that to people: don't feel like you've got to go with the crowd. You might absolutely hate the up-to-date, trendy plant and want to grow Aspidistras, or something like that?
Katie: There's a lot of diva plants around and I'm, like, "Nope, that's not for me!". I think they would drive me nuts to have to worry about something like that, but that's just me. You're right, you should have the plants around that make you happy and that you enjoy taking care of.
Jane: You've written and illustrated the book; you're an illustrator. I'm very jealous of this because I really can't draw. I know illustrators and artists will always say, "Everyone can draw!" - I really can't! You were telling me before this interview that you have been doing some more drawing since you wrote the book, and putting together a plant journal. Can you tell me a bit about that?
Katie: If you've read the book, you know that I've had houseplants throughout my life and most of them have died. Within the last year or so, after working on this book, being immersed in the world of plants and houseplants and paying a bit more attention to the ones I have around me and why I have them, I feel like I've started getting a bit more serious about taking care of the plants and paying attention to what they each need and figuring out the proper care, instead of just getting plants and "Okay, you're here, but if you die, I guess we were never meant to be friends!" type of feeling I've always had, or attitude, about them. I thought it would be nice to have a plant journal. So I've been acquiring all of the plant care information and illustrating the plants to go with that, so that there is a picture of the plant and the different tips and the care guides for how to take care of them. Just like a collection of all of my plants together in a nice journal, so everything is organised. My journal is a mixture of a sketch book and scrap book and journal, right now. Because it's just for me, it's my place to play. It's not like some fancy, leather-bound expensive journal, where everything is perfectly laid out. It's in a three-ring binder with plastic sleeves and I have loose sheets of paper, of plants I've illustrated on different types of paper and different mediums. It's a place for me to play around with drawing and to keep track of the plants I have and document the journey of paying attention to my little plant friends now.
Jane: I often feel very intimidated when you see these journals that are in these very fancy sketch books. The idea of having it in a ring-binder with plastic pockets and we can take things in and out is great because it takes some of the pressure off. I'm always like, "I'm starting this new thing and I'm going to ruin it by having to cross something out in the first two minutes!" and the idea of being able to have that very simple taking things in and out is brilliant. Also, you can expand it endlessly as your collection grows, which is great. As I say, I've got no artistic talents but I'm sure it's one of those things that, the more you allow yourself to, just enjoy and build your confidence as you go?
Katie: Yes, definitely! It's one of those things where as clichéd as it is, it just requires time and putting in the hours to it. I think, when you're first starting out, because you want to go from the idea to a beautiful rendering of exactly what you wanted very quickly and you don't want to put up with all the, what you would call, the ugly ones in the meantime. You just have to put in the time and I think it's something that evolves without recognising it. I've been doing this for a while now and I always wanted to have a style and have it be unique, but it wasn't something I set out to do on purpose, like, "I'm going to draw like this and it's going to look exactly like this!". It was just, "I'll draw something how it feels like it should be to me". So when you get this inkling as you're drawing something and it's entertaining to you, or charming, or amusing, then that's the first little tidbit of noticing that you're making progress and your style is evolving and it's only going to improve from there.
Jane: What I love about this idea of doing a plant journal, not that I've got 'round to doing it, but I love the idea of it because what I'm always saying to people is look at your plants. Really look at them, really observe, get that hand lens, get up close, take it out of the outer pot, take it out of the inner pot, have a really good look at it. Of course, if you're going to draw it, that's exactly what you do need to do, so you must learn so much through that process of looking?
Katie: Definitely, yes. I was just thinking about that as I was drawing a plant the other week. I feel like drawing is basically just seeing really well. So, as I'm drawing the plants, I'm noticing these textures and colours that I just glanced at before, but now I'm noticing, as I need to draw how does the leaf actually connect to the stem? What shape is it? Do I see any veins? What direction are they going? I feel like I develop an appreciation for it that I didn't have before, just studying and saying, "Oh, wow! This, up close, is so interesting and I just completely missed that before!". I think it deepens your relationship a little bit with it and makes you appreciate how the plant is made and what makes it so unique.
Jane: What's your houseplant collection like now?
Katie: I just counted it up to know, but I have fourteen houseplants which is probably on the smaller end and I have 14 potted plants and a couple of air plants floating around.
Jane: I was just going to say, I always say to people you need to find the right number for you and that may well be the right number for you! I think the right number for me right now is probably about half the plants that I've actually got because I'm really struggling to keep everything going. I guess, as you draw your plants, and you understand them, you can find things that really work for you. I bet air plants are quite fun to draw, actually? I can imagine they're quite responsive to drawing and responsive to close looking because I sometimes condemn them as being a bit boring but actually, once you get up close and personal and spend time with them, you appreciate their qualities?
Katie: Definitely, yes! I like drawing, I have an air plant that's hanging in a vase by my window and it's got such curly, spirally leaves and I tend to draw that a lot when I'm drawing an illustration of my office. I like to draw almost like a journal, day-to-day stuff, things that are happening in my life and a lot of those take place in my office and that air plant shows up quite a bit. I think I draw Spider Plants pretty regularly for that same reason. When they have the curly, bouncy leaves, it's fun to draw!
Jane: Are there any plants that you didn't get to include in the book that you wish you had?
Katie: I was thinking about that just recently. I was going through some old pictures and I have a lot of plants from different vacations and travels that I would have loved to have included, but when coming up with the narrative for the book, I tried to pick plants that were evenly spaced throughout my life, so that it was a gradual journey of when I was younger and my childhood, up to present day. So there were a lot of plants that didn't fit the narrative that I really wanted to focus on. One thing I was thinking of recently, and it's not necessarily a houseplant or anything related to gardening, but I went to Iceland a couple of years ago and one of the nature aspects that sticks out a lot is this beautiful moss that covers so much of the landscape and that was a really great trip and it was one of the first vacations that I went on with my now husband. So that moss, which seems ordinary and maybe a bit boring, is so closely tied to that trip and there's a lot of memories that I could talk about with that, but it was just one of those things that didn't fit in the book. A lot of things from travels, I would say, I could make a whole other book about that, probably, but there wasn't room in this one.
Jane: There's your sequel right there! The houseplant community is an ever-growing and a diverse one. Publishing a book about houseplants, as I may be about to discover, I hope, is a challenging and interesting journey, I'm sure!? Have you learned anything about the houseplant community from publishing this book and the response you've had?
Katie: Yes. I think before this, I had no idea there was this big a houseplant community! I'm very late to the party I think. I was surprised at how massive it is, how many plant influencers and different accounts across social media and blogs and podcasts. I was just blown away! After I finished the book, it came time to figure out how I wanted to market it and I thought reaching out to people who have these very deep connections to plants might be an interesting way to go about that. During that stage I was just blown away by how massive it is. One thing I feel like I have learned is that the houseplant community and gardening community is just so welcoming and it feels to me very inclusive and friendly and people seem very generous with sharing information and different tips for how to manage and care for plants and taking care of pests and things like that. It does seem like a very warm and great community to be a part of.
Jane: I've put some of your pictures from the book, and also of your wonderful plant journal, in the show notes, for people to take a look at, and also the full details of the book which is out now and it's really great and I love your style of illustration. It's really fun and one of the pictures is of a Chinese Money Plant, I don't know if that's an actual pot or if that's a pot from your imagination but it's in this amazing red and white dotty round pot and I'm thinking, "Gosh, I love that pot! That's the perfect pot for that plant!". It's great fun! I would say that it has made me really think again about whether I should have a go at doing some illustrations because maybe there's an artist in me after all! So thank you for inspiring me and thank you for joining me today! It's great to hear about your book.
Katie: Thanks Jane! Thanks so much for having me.
[music]
Jane: Katie's book, 'My Life in Plants', is out now, published by Andrews McMeel Publishing and it's available in all the usual booky places. You can find out more about Katie on her website katievaz.com and, of course, I'll add all of her links in the show notes, including her Instagram, Etsy and Twitter. If you're a Patreon subscriber, you can hear An Extra Leaf #56 which features more chat with Katie about how she became a professional illustrator and what you need to get started drawing your plants, whether that's just for fun or as a professional.
[music]
Jane: Now it's time for Question of the Week, which comes from Alison. Alison describes herself as an avid outdoor gardener who struggles keeping plants alive indoors. She's in Canada and the only plants she can successfully grow in her current flat are Spider Plants, an unnamed inherited cactus and a sort of miniature Snake Plant. Ferns get too dry, succulents go stretched out and leggy. She's not sure what she can grow. Alison has a big south-facing living room window that gets hot in the summer and quite cold in the winter and she wants some plants to expand her indoor greenery.
I'm a bit surprised, Alison, that your succulents are going leggy. I'm wondering if you're putting them right in that hot south facing living room window because that sounds absolutely ideal for cacti and succulents, or most of them anyway, because most of them do require a really hot and sunny spot in the summer and much cooler temperatures, but still lots of light, in the winter. That said, the amount of legginess that you get with succulents does really vary according to what kind of succulent you have. Certain things, like Echeverias, Aeoniums and some Sedums, it's really hard to stop them being leggy unless they are really enjoying high light levels during winter. It's partly tied to temperature: if it's cool enough, the plants will just sit there, but if it's warm enough that they're still growing, they will be stretching towards that light.
I am going to go out on a limb here. Given that you've said that one of the plants you have managed to succeed with is a Snake Plant, I'm going to suggest that you go large on Snake Plants because there are so many different cool Sansevierias available these days: you've got spindly ones, like Curciii, and huge, meaty ones, such as Masoniana, the Whale Fin Snake Plant with the huge paddle-like leaves. Even the bog standard Sansevieria trifasciata, or to use the correct Latin name Dracaena trifasciata because, of course, Sansevieria has been moved into the Dracaena genus in recent years, that can be stunning en masse. If you've seen Mad Men, you'll recall, in your mind's eye, Don Draper's apartment and that amazing trough of Sansevieria trifasciata by the door! It can look really cool like that.
Sansevierias, I suspect, won't go leggy in the same way as other succulents, especially if they're left to be quite cool in winter and they make a really good choice and you could have a whole different forest of different shapes and sizes. I haven't even mentioned the bird's nest type, like Hahnii - there's different colours. I'm probably going on about Sansevierias a bit because, as I mentioned in a recent episode, I have now got my wish list plant, Bantel's Sensation, which is a beautiful, tall, silvery, variegated Sansevieria: so exciting to have this plant! Another one that's fairly similar but a slightly different colour of variegation, and also slightly wider leaves, is Metallica and of course, the plant that's on the On The Ledge logo, Sansevieria cylindrica, or Witches Fingers, is pretty cool too. I think you could do a lot with a range of different Sansevierias would look really awesome in different pots or all grouped together in a grouping. There's just so much you could do. In fact, you know what, I must do a whole episode on Sansevieria because they are amazing plants.
I think Sansevierias could be a good choice for somebody like you, Alison, who has not had huge amounts of success with plants so far. If you've managed to keep a miniature Snake Plant alive, not quite sure what variety that might be, that's telling me that it's something that would be happy in your apartment. Often that's the way to go, look at what's working already and go with what you can do that isn't going to die on you and is going to look great. If you want some inspiration, then do look at the #SansevieriaSunday on Instagram for some amazing group shots of Sansevieriastogether and different ways of displaying them. They're often recommended for deep shade and yes they will sit there in deep shade and not complain too much but they are so much happier if they are in sun, so this south-facing window will be absolutely ideal. I think you could start a really nice collection, Allison, and it could be the start of something great!
If you want something hanging down, you could go for some of the trailing succulents like Sedum morganianum, Burro's Tail, Othonna capensis, Ruby Necklace, which is a beautiful string of trailing succulent with little purple tinged... what shape are they? They're spindle-shaped leaves which are amazing and of course, String of Pearls, Curio Rowleyanus would look great too. These are a little bit more tricky, but if you've got them in the right potting mix you should be able to make those thrive as well. I'll put a link in the show notes to my Training Plants Week where I talk about how to take care of Curio Rowleyanus. You could also go wild on the Spider Plants too. Try collecting different cultivars of the Spider Plant, the plain green one, the curly one, there's just lots of options on that. Do go back and have a listen to the Spider Plant episode if you want more inspiration on that front. So, there's loads of options! I'll post some pictures in the show notes of Sansevierias which are very, very low maintenance and very easy and I hope that offers some inspiration for you, Alison. If you've got a question for On The Ledge, do drop me a line: ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com
[music]
Jane: That's all for this week's show! I will be back next Friday for more extreme planty-ness. Join me then. Bye!
[music]
Jane: The music you heard in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by The Joy Drops, An Instrument the Boy Called Happy Day, Gokarna by Samuel Corwin and I Snost, I Lost by Doctor Turtle. All tracks are licensed under Creative Commons. Visit my show notes at janePperrone.com for details.
Subscribe to On The Ledge via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Player FM, Stitcher, Overcast, RadioPublic and YouTube.
In this episode, illustrator Katie Vaz talks to me about her new book My Life in Plants and I answer a question about plants for a south-facing window.
Patreon Ledge Ends and Superfans can listen to more from Katie Vaz in An Extra Leaf 56.
Katie Vaz is an illustrator, author, and hand-letterer who lives in Upstate New York. Her book, My Life in Plants, is out now: you can watch a trailer for the book on Katie's website. You can buy prints and more on Katie's Etsy site. You can also find Katie on Instagram and Twitter.
Below you can see more images from the book, plus Katie’s plant journal.
A spread from Katie Vaz’s gardening journal.
Sansevieria (from left) S. trifasciata 'Hahnii', S. trifasciata 'Golden Hahnii' and S. trifasciata ‘Futura Superba’. Photograph: Jane Perrone.
Question of the week
Houseplant newbie Allison from Canada wanted some suggestions for her south-facing window that’s cold in winter. As Allison has had success with a snake plant, aka Sansevieria, I suggest she goes large on these plants and adds a few more to her collection.
There are lots of cultivars and species to choose from now, including S. masoniana, the whale fin plant, spindly S. kirkii (more accurately Dracaena pethera, as all members of Sanseveria have now been moved to the genus Dracaena), silvery S. metallica, spiky S. cylindrica aka witches’ fingers (which features in the On The Ledge logo) and my new addition, S. ‘Bantel’s Sensation’. Sansevierias look great en masse (remember the trough of S. trifasciata in Don Draper’s apartment in Mad Men?)
If you want some snake plant style inspiration, check out #SansevieriaSunday on Instagram.
Allison could also try hanging succulents such as Curio rowleyanus (string of pearls), Othonna capensis ‘Ruby Necklace’ and Sedum morganianum (burro’s tail). Check out my trailing plants week for advice on how to keep these alive.
Want to ask me a question? Email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. The more information you can include, the better - pictures of your plant, details of your location and how long you have had the plant are always useful to help solve your issue!
HOW TO SUPPORT ON THE LEDGE
Contributions from On The Ledge listeners help to pay for all the things that have made the show possible over the last few years: equipment, travel expenses, editing, admin support and transcription.
Want to make a one-off donation? You can do that through my ko-fi.com page, or via Paypal.
Want to make a regular donation? Join the On The Ledge community on Patreon! Whether you can only spare a dollar or a pound, or want to make a bigger commitment, there’s something for you: see all the tiers and sign up for Patreon here.
The Crazy Plant Person tier just gives you a warm fuzzy feeling of supporting the show you love.
The Ledge End tier gives you access to two extra episodes a month, known as An Extra Leaf, as well as ad-free versions of the main podcast on weeks where there’s a paid advertising spot, and access to occasional patron-only Zoom sessions.
My Superfan tier earns you a personal greeting from me in the mail including a limited edition postcard, as well as ad-free episodes.
If you like the idea of supporting On The Ledge on a regular basis but don't know what Patreon's all about, check out the FAQ here: if you still have questions, leave a comment or email me - ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. If you're already supporting others via Patreon, just click here to set up your rewards!
If you prefer to support the show in other ways, please do go and rate and review On The Ledge on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen. It's lovely to read your kind comments, and it really helps new listeners to find the show. You can also tweet or post about the show on social media - use #OnTheLedgePodcast so I’ll pick up on it!
CREDITS
This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, An Instrument the Boy Called Happy Day, Gokarna by Samuel Corwin and I Snost, I Lost by Doctor Turtle.
Logo design by Jacqueline Colley.